Government Finance and Operations
For more information, contact Jim Wiltshire, ext. 545, jwiltshire@counties.org or Faith L. Conley at 916/327-7500, ext. 522, fconley@counties.org.
Taxes
AB 1840 (Calderon) – Support
As Introduced on January 24, 2008
AB 1840, by Assembly Member Charles Calderon, would take an important step in collecting use tax owed by ensuring that all retailers engaged in business in California are required to collect it. This law would make sure that California law conforms with federal law in its definition of such retailers, and at the same time would help to ensure that all those who owe tax pay it, thereby lessening the relative burden on those Californians that scrupulously follow the law.
The sales and use tax is important to the state, counties, and cities as a revenue stream that helps to fund the services and facilities that the state's residents expect from them. The gap between use taxes owed and those collected is counted in the billions of dollars, and that number is only estimated to grow as more consumers make their purchases through the Web sites of out-of-state vendors. Because AB 1840 is designed to decrease that gap, CSAC is in support of the bill. The bill is scheduled to be heard on the Assembly floor on June 30.
AB 2411 (Caballero) – Support
As Amended on June 19, 2008
AB 2411, by Assembly Member Anna Caballero, seeks to clarify the proper use of a questionable cross-reference in Revenue and Taxation Code that has been inappropriately used to extend the intended statute of limitations on property tax refunds, as well as specify the interest rate used to calculate the appropriate refund amount.
In addition to clarifying and cleaning up current Revenue and Taxation Code, AB 2411 would also establish a uniform method for County Auditors to determine the amount of interest calculated on property tax refunds resulting from a property tax roll correction. Currently, from county to county, these refunds are calculated in several different ways. The State Association of County Auditors proposed a solution, which is included in AB 2411 – to use the interest rate during the year in which the refund is calculated as the appropriate figure. This rate will fluctuate from year to year, but would be consistent from county to county.
AB 2411 was heard in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on June 25. It passed out of committee on a 7-0 vote.
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION
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