Budget & Taxes (Sales Tax)

Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, infant car seats, as defined. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes, including a partial exemption from those taxes, on and after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2030, for the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, among other things, qualified tangible personal property purchased by a qualified person for purchases not exceeding $200,000,000, for use primarily in manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of tangible personal property, as specified. Existing law requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to provide a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Department of Finance of, among other things, the total dollar amount of exemptions, as specified. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2031. This bill would, instead, extend the above-described partial exemption from those taxes until January 1, 2031, and would remove the above-described reporting requirement pertaining to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The bill would make various conforming changes and repeal these provisions on January 1, 2036. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would require the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, if requested by the Legislature, to submit a report to the Legislature on the exemption and would provide findings and declarations relating to the goals of the exemption. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes, including, until January 1, 2026, an exemption from those taxes with respect to the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, specified zero-emission technology transit buses sold to specified public agencies that are eligible for specified incentives from the State Air Resources Board. This bill would extend the exemption for specified zero-emission technology transit buses until January 1, 2028. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing statutory law, enacted by Proposition 62, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 1986, statewide general election, prohibits a local government or district from imposing any transaction tax or sales tax on the sale of real property within the city, county, or district, except as provided. The California Constitution authorizes cities organized under a charter to make and enforce all ordinances and regulations in respect to municipal affairs, which supersede inconsistent general laws. Existing law, the Documentary Transfer Tax Act, authorizes the imposition of a tax by a county or city, as provided, with respect to specified instruments that transfer specified interests in real property. This bill would require a legislative body of a city, as specified, before it adopts any transfer tax on the sale of real property, to develop and post on its internet website an analysis that examines, at a minimum, the effect of the proposed transfer tax on, among other things, the production of affordable housing, including affordable housing produced by market-rate housing projects. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2026, provide an exemption from the taxes imposed by the Sales and Use Tax Law for the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, hydrogen fuel, as defined. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to those state sales and use tax rates imposed or dedicated for local government funding, including those rates for which revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund 2011. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would also include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. The act authorizes, until January 1, 2026, the authority to provide financial assistance to a participating party by authorizing exclusions from sales and use tax for certain projects, including those that promote California-based manufacturing, California-based jobs, advanced manufacturing, the reduction of greenhouse gases, or a reduction in air and water pollution or energy consumption. The Sales and Use Tax Law, for the purposes of the taxes imposed pursuant to that law, until January 1, 2026, excludes the lease or transfer of title of tangible personal property constituting one of those projects to any contractor for use in the performance of a construction contract for a participating party that will use that property as an integral part of the approved project. This bill would extend to January 1, 2028, the authorization to provide financial assistance in the form of a sales and use tax exclusion for projects approved by the authority. The bill would add electrical generation facilities using nuclear fusion technology to the types of projects qualifying for this sales and use tax exclusion. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2026, for an applicant that, together with its parent corporation and subsidiaries, employs 500 or more employees, prohibit the authority from approving a project unless the applicant certifies that the applicant and its subcontractors will comply with certain labor requirements. The bill would make other conforming changes. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law prescribes the procedures by which a proposed ordinance may be submitted to the governing board of a district by an initiative measure. These procedures do not apply to specified districts, including a district formed under a law that does not provide a procedure for elections. This bill would authorize the voters of any district that has authority to impose a transactions and use tax for transportation purposes to impose a retail transactions and use tax by an initiative measure. The bill would prohibit the initiative tax from exceeding the maximum authorized rate for a tax imposed by an ordinance enacted by the governing body of the district, and the bill would require the initiative measure to contain all spending limitations and substantive accountability standards applicable to a tax imposed by an ordinance enacted by the governing body. To the extent the bill would increase the duties of county elections officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and designates air pollution control districts and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law requires the state board to inventory sources of air pollution within the air basins of the state, determine the kinds and quantity of air pollutants, and monitor air pollutants in cooperation with districts and other agencies. Existing law requires the state board to adopt standards of ambient air quality for each air basin in consideration of the public health, safety, and welfare, including, but not limited to, health, illness, irritation to the senses, aesthetic value, interference with visibility, and effects on the economy. Existing law authorizes these standards to vary from one air basin to another. This bill would require the state board, in consultation with specified entities, to develop, as provided, a response framework that establishes best practices and guidance for addressing fugitive and natural sources of hydrogen sulfide gas and for community preparation and response to hydrogen sulfide exposure events originating from these sources. The bill would require the state board, in developing the response framework, to conduct at least 3 public workshops, including at least one located in the Tijuana River Valley region, at least one located in the Salton Sea region, and at least one selected in consultation with a community that has experienced significant hydrogen sulfide exposure. The bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to update the acute and chronic reference exposure levels for hydrogen sulfide and to develop additional health guidance values for hydrogen sulfide, if the need is identified by the state board, in consultation with the office, during development of the response framework.

Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill, on and after July 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, would exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, firefighting apparatus, equipment, or specialized vehicles, as defined, purchased by a fire department, including an all-volunteer fire department, as defined, or a fire protection district. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011. This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to those state sales and use tax rates imposed or dedicated for local government funding, including those rates for which revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund 2011. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. Existing law, the Sales and Use Tax Law, imposes a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011. Existing law provides various exemptions from the taxes imposed by the Sales and Use Tax Law, including, until July 1, 2030, a partial exemption for the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, qualified tangible personal property, as defined, purchased by a qualified person, as defined, for purchases not exceeding $200,000,000, primarily used for specified purposes, including manufacturing, recycling, and research and development. Existing sales and use tax law provides that the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law, the Transactions and Use Tax Law, and those laws imposing certain sales and use tax rates for local funding do not apply to the above-described exemption, thereby subjecting the sale, or the storage, use, or other consumption in this state, of tangible personal property, otherwise exempt from taxation under these provisions, to local sales and use taxes, transactions and use taxes, and state sales and use taxes imposed for local funding. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, allow a credit against the taxes imposed by the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law to a taxpayer in an amount equal to the amount of sales tax reimbursement paid by the taxpayer to a retailer for the purchase of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or the amount of use tax paid by the taxpayer on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer, that would have been exempt from taxation pursuant to the above-described exemption, but for the application of local sales and use taxes and transactions and use taxes, or the imposition of certain sales and use tax rates for local funding, as specified. The bill would authorize the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to provide specified information to the Franchise Tax Board to assist in the administration of the credit, and would apply existing restrictions to the sharing of that information, the violation of which is a crime. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require, on or before May 14, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Department of Finance to provide to the legislative budget committees an estimate of the amount of revenue that would not be realized if the credits described above were allowed for that taxable year and would provide that those credits are allowed only for taxable years for which the Legislature appropriates money in the Budget Act for the administration of those credits. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.