Sales and use taxes: consumer: garment cleaner.

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. That law, with certain exceptions, defines a retailer as a seller who makes any retail sale of tangible personal property and as a person who makes more than 2 retail sales of tangible personal property during any 12-month period. A retail sale is a sale of tangible personal property for any purpose other than resale in the regular course of business. This bill would, until January 1, 2013, provide that a garment cleaner who received no more than 0.5% of his or her total gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property during the preceding calendar year is a consumer, not a retailer, of that tangible personal property sold, so the retail sale subject to tax is the sale to the garment cleaner. This bill would provide that a garment cleaner is a retailer if his or her sales of tangible personal property exceed 0.5% of his or her total gross receipts during the preceding calendar year, and sales tax would apply to the gross receipts from those sales. 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 the Transactions and Use Tax Law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law. Exemptions from state sales and use taxes are incorporated in these taxes. Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code provides that the state will 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 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, but its operative date would depend on its effective date.