Sales and use taxes: exclusion: pawnbrokers: transfer of vested property.

Existing 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. Existing law defines "sale" and "purchase" for these purposes and provides certain exclusions from those definitions. Existing law regulates pawnbrokers by, among other things, requiring every loan made by a pawnbroker for which goods are received in pledge as security to be evidenced by a written contract, a copy of which is required to be furnished to the pledgor. Existing law requires the loan period of a loan contract to be no less than 4 months, and requires the loan contract to set forth the loan period, the date on which the loan is due and payable, and to clearly inform the pledgor of his or her right to redeem the pledge during the loan period. Existing law provides procedures by which a pawnbroker may become vested with the title to pledged property. This bill, until January 1, 2022, would provide that "sale" and "purchase" do not include the transfer of vested property, as defined, by a pawnbroker to a person who pledged the property to the pawnbroker as security for a loan if specified requirements are met, thus excluding that transfer from imposition of sales and use tax. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes cities and counties to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes 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 state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse cities and counties for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse cities and counties for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.