Budget & Taxes (Tax Incentives)

(1) 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, 2027, and before July 1, 2032, exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of a used motor vehicle sold by specified dealers or their affiliates or a new motor vehicle. 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 exclude the exemption from that requirement. 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 this 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 this 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. (2) The Vehicle License Fee Law imposes a license fee for the privilege of operating upon the public highways in this state of specified vehicles, including any vehicle of a type which is subject to registration under the Vehicle Code. This bill would impose, on and after July 1, 2027, and before July 1, 2032, upon the sale of a used motor vehicle sold by specified dealers or their affiliates or the first sale of a new motor vehicle to a consumer, an additional license fee equal to 3.9375% of the gross receipts from the sale. The bill would require the dealer to collect the license fee, as described, and remit the funds. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to report the amounts collected to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and deposit those moneys in the General Fund. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. (3) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in conformity or modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by those laws, including a deduction for depreciation of certain property put into the service of a trade or business. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, would provide for an accelerated depreciation deduction of 50% or 100%, as applicable, of the adjusted basis, as specified, of qualified property, as defined, put into service by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, during the taxable year. The bill would require a qualified taxpayer to place qualified property with an adjusted basis of at least $1,000,000 into service in the state during the taxable year in order to be eligible for the accelerated depreciation deduction. The bill would require the qualified taxpayer to certify under penalty of perjury that qualified property put into service during the taxable year will be primarily used in the state for at least 3 years. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 would also 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.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2026, a credit for hiring qualified full-time employees, as defined, within a designated census tract or economic development area in an amount equal to 35% of the qualified wages, defined in part as those wages that exceed 150% of minimum wage but do not exceed 350% of minimum wage, paid to those employees multiplied by the applicable percentage for that taxable year. Existing law exempts certain taxpayers from the above-described census tract or economic development area requirement, as specified, and disallows the above-described credit for specified businesses. Existing law repeals the above-described provisions on December 1, 2029. This bill would extend the operative date for the above-described tax credits through taxable years beginning before January 1, 2031. The bill would extend the above-described repeal date to December 1, 2034. 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. 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 of, 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 an exemption for the sale of, or the storage, use, or consumption of, farm equipment and machinery, and the parts thereof, purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily in producing and harvesting agricultural products. 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 excludes the tax exemption described above from being incorporated into certain local taxes pursuant to the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law. This bill would, until January 1, 2032, delete that provision. 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 make an appropriation from the General Fund to the Controller to make the reimbursements to counties and cities. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific purposes 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. 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. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, would allow a credit against those taxes to a qualified taxpayer in an amount equal to 40% of the qualified wages paid or incurred to a qualified employee employed during the taxable year. The bill would define a qualified employee for this purpose to mean an individual that, among other things, has been convicted of a felony, as provided, and has a hiring date not more than one year after the date the individual was convicted or was released from prison. 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 would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new income tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law, the California Land Conservation Act of 1965, otherwise known as the Williamson Act, authorizes a city or county to enter into contracts with owners of agricultural land to preserve the land for agricultural use, as specified, in return for reduced property tax assessments. The act also authorizes a landowner of specified agricultural land to petition the city or county to cancel the Williamson Act contract in order to designate the land as a farmland security zone, whereby the land is eligible for a specified property tax valuation and taxed at a reduced rate for specified special taxes. Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city or a county to establish an enhanced infrastructure financing district, with a governing body referred to as the public financing authority, to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide significance. Existing law requires the public financing authority to prepare and adopt a proposed infrastructure financing plan, as specified. Existing law authorizes the plan to require a certain portion of specified taxes levied upon property within the district to be allocated to the district each year, as specified. Existing law authorizes certain local agencies to form a Community Revitalization and Investment Authority within a community revitalization and investment area to carry out a community revitalization plan in that area for specified purposes. Existing law authorizes the plan to require a certain portion of specified taxes levied upon property within the area to be allocated to the authority to finance improvements, as specified. This bill would exclude the taxes levied upon a parcel of land enrolled in or subject to a Williamson Act contract or a farmland security zone contract, as specified, from the above-described allocations to the district or authority, as applicable. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 53398.75 of the Government Code proposed by SB 516 to be operative only if this bill and SB 516 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing property tax law, pursuant to constitutional authorization, provides for a "welfare exemption" for property used exclusively for religious, hospital, scientific, or charitable purposes and that is owned or operated by certain types of nonprofit entities, if certain qualifying criteria are met. That law provides a partial welfare exemption in the case of residential rental property used for lower income households, as specified, calculated as that percentage of the value of the property that is equal to the percentage that the number of units serving lower income households represents of the total number of residential units. This bill would provide a partial welfare exemption in the case of certain residential rental property used for low- and moderate-income households. The partial exemption would be equal to that percentage of the value of the property that is equal to the percentage that the number of units serving low- and moderate-income households, as defined, represents of the total number of residential units, as provided. The bill would require an owner to make specified certifications, under penalty of perjury, relating to the use of the property. By expanding the duties of local tax officials, and by expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would declare that its provisions are severable. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

(1) The California Constitution generally limits the maximum rate of ad valorem tax on real property to 1% of the full cash value of the property and defines "full cash value" for these purposes as the appraised value of real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred after the 1975 assessment. Pursuant to constitutional authorization, existing property tax law excludes from the definition of "newly constructed" for these purposes the construction or addition of any active solar energy system, as defined, through the 2025–26 fiscal year, as provided. Existing law provides the exclusion for an active solar energy system applies to the initial purchaser of a new building, as provided, and requires the initial purchaser to file a claim with the assessor. This bill would state a claim filed by an initial purchaser is timely if it is filed within three years of the date of purchase. The bill would also provide that an otherwise valid claim for exclusion filed after the three year deadline would be applied beginning on the lien date for the assessment year in which the claim is filed. The bill would make these provisions operative beginning January 1, 2027. (2) Existing law, with respect to supplemental property tax assessments, specifies various limitation periods for assessments on the supplemental tax roll. Existing law provides for the application of property tax exemptions to those supplemental assessments provided, among other things, that an assessee file an exemption application within a specified time. Existing property tax law allows taxes, penalties, and interest imposed for late filings of property tax exemption applications for the supplemental roll that exceed $250 in total to be canceled or refunded up to 85% or 90%, as applicable, in the case of the exemption for a college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, or veterans' organization. This bill would expand this reduction to be applied to exemptions for public schools, as provided. (3) Existing property tax law provides, with respect to property eligible for the college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans' organization, free public libraries, free museums, public schools, community colleges, state colleges, state universities, tribal housing, or welfare exemption but for which a timely application for exemption was not filed, that 90% of any tax or penalty or interest on that property shall be canceled or refunded if an appropriate application for exemption is filed on or before the lien date in the calendar year next succeeding the calendar year in which the exemption was not claimed by a timely application. Existing property tax law requires, if an appropriate application for exemption is filed within 90 days from the first day of the month following the month in which the property was acquired or by February 15 of the following calendar year, whichever occurs first, any tax or penalty or interest imposed upon property owned by any organization qualified for the college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans' organization, tribal housing, or welfare exemption that is acquired by that organization during a given calendar year, after the lien date but before the first day of the fiscal year commencing within that calendar year, if the property is of a kind that would have been qualified for the college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans' organization, tribal housing, or welfare exemption if it had been owned by the organization on the lien date, to be canceled or refunded. This bill would add public schools to the list of entities eligible for the cancellation or refund of any tax or penalty or interest imposed on property acquired in a given calendar year after the lien date but before the first day of the fiscal year commencing within that calendar year. The bill also would make conforming changes. By expanding the duties of local tax officials, this 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.

The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various deductions from gross income in calculating adjusted gross income. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2036, would allow a deduction in determining adjusted gross income for an amount equal to the qualified tips, as defined, received by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, during the taxable year, not to exceed $20,000. 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.