Democrats on the
Senate Appropriations Committee voted February 16 to approve a tax increase
package that no one had seen in bill form. The committee voted not on a bill or
bills, but on a laundry list of ideas with no official language.
A portion of the tax
increase/revenue package in ABX8 8
(Evans) was approved by a 23-15 vote in the Senate on February 18. The bill
contains provisions to:
·
Expand
sales tax nexus to out-of-state retailers entering into agreements with anyone
in California who refers potential customers by a web link or otherwise.
·
Suspend
the professional licenses of taxpayers who are delinquent in paying taxes
(which would make them unable to earn income to pay those taxes).
·
Require
financial institutions to match their account holders against the Franchise Tax
Board's list of tax delinquents.
·
Expand
the definition of "abusive tax avoidance transactions," increase
penalties on amended returns and prevent judicial review.
Speaking on behalf
of ABX8 8 on the Senate floor,
Senator Denise Ducheny said the bill includes tools requested by the FTB for
better tax enforcement. She said the attempt to require Internet sellers to
collect California use tax was "the most controversial piece" of the
bill. Democrats generally argued that Californians should pay tax on their Internet
sales.
Republicans said
that the bill will not reach specified sales, due to federal law and the
wording of the bill. Citing New York's experience with similar legislation,
Senator Dennis Hollingsworth said the bill will result in Internet sellers not
using affiliates in California. He said the bill will not result in new
revenue, but will cost California jobs.
The floor vote on ABX8 8:
Aye – Democrats: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Wiggins, Wolk and Yee; Republicans: None.
No – Democrats: Correa, Wright; Republicans: Aanestad, Ashburn,
Cogdill, Cox, Dehnam, Dutton, Hollingsworth, Huff,
Maldonado, Runner, Strickland, Walters and Wyland.
Not Voting – Democrats: None; Republicans: Harman.
The balance of the
Democratic tax package was approved by an 8-2 vote of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, but has not yet been approved by the Senate (and was not in any bill
as of this writing). The plan is said to include the following provisions:
·
Prevents
Sharing of Tax Credits – prevent sharing of tax credits among unitary
affiliates in 2010.
·
NOL –
allows only 68 percent of net operating losses to be used for 2010.
·
Imposes
a 4.8 percent tax on fire insurance payments.
·
Repeals
sales tax on gasoline and imposes excise tax on gasoline.
It is expected that
these provisions will be considered by the full Senate today.
Incoming Senate
Republican Leader Bob Dutton said the corporate tax changes are tax increases,
and he charged that Democrats are reneging on previous budget agreements.
"By undoing some of this stuff, it doesn't bode well for their
credibility," he said.
The total Democratic
package is touted by proponents as reducing the budget deficit in 2009-10 and
2010-11 by $5 billion. Because 92 percent of the deficit reduction is scored in
the 2010-11 fiscal year, the package would leave serious cash flow issues for
the 2009-10 budget, which likely will end awash in red
ink.
More than half of
the deficit reduction in the Democrats' plan ($2.65 billion) is attributable to
revenue increases or the gas tax swap. There are few real budget cuts. The
largest are: $811 million to reduce prison health care, which was over-budgeted
in the first place; a deferral of state mandate payments ($228 million); and a
cap on payroll ($450 million).
(Cal-Tax: At a
Sacramento Press Club luncheon on February 17, Senate President Pro Tempore
Darrell Steinberg deplored the poor public perception of the Legislature and
said improving the Legislature's image is a priority. However, the secretive
process used to develop this tax package will further tarnish the Senate's
image. ABX8 8 was amended February
17 and approved by the Senate the next day. The public had less than one day to
read the bill and provide input. The bill was never heard in any Senate committee after it was actually in print.
The floor analysis of the bill that was posted on the Internet for the public to
see was totally incomplete – it was an analysis of the bill prior to the
amendments that put all the tax provisions into the bill.)
Tax Withholding on Independent Contractors Is Deferred. During his speech to the Sacramento Press Club, Senator Steinberg said his proposal to impose tax withholding requirements on independent contractors will not be acted upon immediately, but may return during the budget negotiations in the summer. The idea "will remain a live option come June or July," he said.
The senator made the comments in response to a question from a Press Club official who is an independent contractor. She noted that she already pays quarterly taxes, and added that withholding would create new burdens and cash-flow concerns without solving any problems, since she and other independent contractors already pay the taxes they owe. Noting that Senator Steinberg says withholding is not a tax increase, she said, "If it is not a tax increase, then there won't be new revenue."
Senator Steinberg said new revenue would come in because the new system would catch some contractors who currently evade taxes.
Tax Commission Proposals Coming Back? At the press event, Senator Steinberg was asked what taxes he would try to increase if two-thirds approval were not an issue. He did not answer with specifics, but said he would like to "take the kernel of the Parsky work," make the tax system more progressive, and "expand the tax base."
(Cal-Tax: The reference to the Commission on the 21st Century Economy, chaired by Gerald Parsky, is unclear. The commission's recommendations were panned by left-leaning groups as being intended to make the tax system less progressive, not more progressive. The commission considered and rejected proposals to expand the sales tax to services, and instead created a "business net receipts tax" that was not supported by all members of the commission, and has not received any noticeable support from legislators, tax policy experts or members of the public.)
The Senate leader also said he would like to give local governments more taxing authority, would like to change Proposition 13 so that the government that collects the property tax would also be in charge of using the money, and would like to "look again at the business tax breaks" in the state budget.
Senate Leader Says There Will Be No More Legislative "Sleepovers," Less Focus on "Big Five." Senator Steinberg also used his appearance at the news media luncheon to pledge that there will be "no more all-nighters" in the upper house, and said the budget negotiations will not rely as heavily on meetings of the "Big Five."
Senator Steinberg noted that last year's budget was approved in the wee hours of the morning, after marathon sessions. Senator Steinberg said the Legislature should be able to hold its public sessions during regular business hours, except in extreme cases, such as to respond to a natural disaster or other such catastrophe. "I had more sleepovers last year than my 15-year-old daughter," the Senate leader quipped.
He also said the "Big Five" process – in which the governor and the Democratic and Republican leaders of both houses do most of the negotiating on major issues – "has been overused," and will be used much less this year.
Cal-TaxReports, February 22, 2010
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