Taxation.

(1) Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to reimburse a manufacturer for an amount equal to the sales tax which the manufacturer pays to or for the buyer when providing a replacement vehicle or making restitution pursuant to the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, subject to satisfactory proof, as specified. This bill would require the board to reimburse a manufacturer for an amount equal to the use tax which the manufacturer pays to or for the buyer or lessee when providing a replacement vehicle or making restitution pursuant to the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, subject to satisfactory proof, as specified. This bill would make other conforming changes, and would also state that the above provisions of the bill are declaratory of existing law. (2) 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, measured by sales price. The Sales and Use Tax Law allows a retailer to be relieved from liability for sales or use tax when the measure of the tax is represented by accounts that have been found to be worthless and charged off for income tax purposes. Retailers who sell their accounts receivables, or lenders who purchase them, are entitled to a refund or a deduction for the taxes paid to the board on that portion of the accounts receivable that is written off as worthless. In these circumstances, existing law requires the retailer and the lender, prior to claiming any deduction or refund, to file an election form with the board, signed by both parties, designating which party is entitled to claim the deduction or refund. This bill would remove the requirement that the election form be filed with the board and would instead require the election form to be retained by the retailer and the lender. (3) Under the Sales and Use Tax Law, there is a presumption that a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft shipped or brought into this state within 12 months from the date of its purchase was acquired for storage, use, or other consumption in this state and is subject to the use tax if specified conditions are met. Under existing law, this presumption does not apply if a vessel was brought into the state exclusively for the purpose of repair, retrofit, or modification performed in a permitted facility that is licensed to do business in the county in which it is located. This bill would, for purposes of the exclusion from this presumption, also allow the repair, retrofit, or modification to be performed in a permitted facility that is licensed to do business in the city or city and county in which it is located, if the city or city and county so requires, or performed in a permitted facility in a county in which it is not required to be licensed. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Exemptions from state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. 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, an appropriation is not made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. (4) The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from the taxes imposed by those laws, including partial exemptions for the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption of, liquefied petroleum gas, farm equipment and machinery, timber harvesting equipment and machinery, and racehorse breeding stock, when purchased for use for specified activities by a qualified person, as defined. Existing law provides that those exemptions became effective September 1, 2001, unless the State Board of Equalization determined that implementation by that date was not feasible, in which case the board was required to report to the Legislature regarding the reason for delayed implementation and to implement the exemption no later than October 1, 2001. The State Board of Equalization adopted regulations implementing these exemptions, which were operative September 1, 2001. This bill would delete the provisions relating to an authorization for a delayed implementation in 2001 of these exemptions. (5) Existing law requires the State Board of Equalization to administer the Sales and Use Tax Law and authorizes the board to undertake collection action on delinquent accounts, including issuing a levy or notice to withhold. A taxpayer may file a claim with the board for reimbursement of bank charges or any other reasonable 3rd-party check charge fees incurred by the taxpayer as a direct result of an erroneous levy or notice to withhold by the board. This bill would additionally authorize a taxpayer to file a reimbursement claim with the board for bank charges and other reasonable 3rd-party check charge fees incurred as a direct result of an erroneous processing action or erroneous collection action by the board. (6) Existing law authorizes the State Board of Equalization and the Controller's office to use specified collection tools with respect to delinquent accounts and liabilities. This bill would authorize the board and the Controller's office to collect restitution orders under specified laws, and a specified penalty, awarded to the state by a court in criminal proceedings, in the same manner as tax liabilities. (7) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Bank and Corporation Tax Law, among other things, allow various exclusions, deductions, and credit in modified conformity to federal income tax laws. This bill would provide additional modified conformity to specified provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 relating to simple cafeteria plans for small businesses, health care benefits of Indian tribe members, and student loan repayment programs.