Tax expenditures.

Existing laws imposes various taxes and allows specified credits, deductions, exclusions, and exemptions in computing those taxes. Existing law requires the Department of Finance to provide an annual report to the Legislature on tax expenditures by no later than September 15 of each year, and requires that annual report to include, among other things, a comprehensive list of tax expenditures exceeding $5,000,000 in annual cost. This bill would require the Legislature, on and after January 1, 2014, to review each "tax expenditure subject to limitation" and each "tax expenditure not subject to limitation," as defined, for the purpose of ensuring that only tax expenditures with a measurable benefit, as defined, are provided by the state. The bill would require the Legislature, based on the information from the review, to assess whether each tax expenditure not subject to limitation meets stated objectives and for each not meeting its objectives, to restrict or eliminate that tax expenditure not subject to limitation in accordance with specified procedures. The bill would specify that each tax expenditure subject to limitation shall cease to be operative and shall be repealed on January 1 of the 5th calendar year after the calendar year of enactment.