• Sales Tax on Services: Last Rites? as reported in Caltaxletter, April 29, 2005.

• Sales Tax on Services. AB 9 (Coto) was amended on April 18, 2005 to impose the sales tax on the following services: (1) Club memberships; (2) Telephone information services; (3) Marina services; (4) Custom computer services; (5) Chartering of limos or aircraft; (6) Accounting and bookkeeping; (7) Legal services; (8) Security and detective services; (9) Telephone services other than residential; (10) Engineering and architectural services; (11) Surveying services; (12) Management, scientific and technical consulting services.

• State Sales Tax Increase: 0.5 Percent. SB 392 (Cedillo) was amended on April 14, 2005 to delete prior contents and add provisions increasing the state sales tax by 0.5 percent on January 1, 2006. Proceeds are earmarked as follows: 10% for state use for the highway patrol and Department of Forestry and 90% to localities on a per capita basis for public safety purposes.

• State Sales Tax Increase: 0.25 Percent. SB 1537 (Soto) increases the state sales tax rate by 0.25 percent during 2005 and 2006. Funds from the tax increase are earmarked for fire protection and emergency response and reimbursement of expenditures for past fires.

• Caltaxletter article: February 20, 2004. BOE: Movie Popcorn is Subject to Sales Tax.

• Caltaxletter article: November 14, 2003. California Strengthens Sales/Use Tax Collections.

• Caltaxletter article: October 17, 2003. Streamlined Sales Tax Project.

• Caltaxletter article: July 11, 2003. Sales Tax on Services Approved by Committee

• Caltaxletter article: June 27, 2003. BOE: Half-Cent Sales Tax Would Threaten 24,000 Jobs

• Caltaxletter article: May 23, 2003. Simplified Sales Tax Measure Advances to Senate Floor

• Caltaxletter article: April 11, 2003. Spending Lobby Wants to Tax Services; Taxpayers Disagree

• Plan for Sales Tax on Services Gets Mixed Reviews at Hearing by Tom Chorneau, from the San Diego Union-Tribune, April 10, 2003.

• Caltaxletter article: March 14, 2003. Westly: Join Streamlined Sales Tax Movement

• Caltaxletter article: February 7, 2003. Governor Asks Tax Commission for April Report

• Caltaxletter article: January 24, 2003. Taxing Services: Top 25 Targets of Spending Lobby Would Yield $7.2 Billion

• Revenue Expected from Various Tax Rates on 25 Selected Services (Chart)

• Cal-Tax: Sales Tax Increase is a Wrong Move by Larry McCarthy, a press release January 9, 2003.

• Notion of Expanding the State Sales Tax Does a Disservice to Us All by David R. Doerr, a commentary in the Los Angeles Times, January 3, 2003.

Legislation:

• Simplified Sales Tax. A 25-13 Senate vote on June 4 approved SB 157 (Bowen), creating a board to represent California on the multi-state Simplified Sales and Use Tax Administration. The board would report to the Legislature’s tax policy committees, the State Board of Equalization and the governor, including recommendations on whether the state should conform to SSUTA actions.

  Senator Bowen said her bill “sets the stage for future change in sales taxes” – such as collecting taxes on Internet sales – by allowing California to join with 36 states working toward a national streamlined sales and use tax system. By having out-of-state sellers collect sales tax and remitting it to California, the California could realize about $1 billion in additional revenue, according to a state study.

  Senator Bowen said it makes sense to seek taxes that are already owed. “It’s about tax fairness, because people should be taxed on what they buy, not on how they buy it.”

  The bill does not raise or impose taxes, it “simply puts us at the table” where policies are being discussed, the senator said. She gave Twix bars to senators, noting that the goal of uniformity is to have SSUTA tackle the question of whether the bars are candy or food, since they contain flour and that is a definition of non-taxed food in some states.

• Tax on Services. SB 400 (Florez) extends the sales tax to include undefined “specialized services.” The bill specifically exempts health services, educational services, and services to a dependent child or dependent adult.

• Budget Leverage? As anyone with experience around the Capitol knows, no bill is dead until the Legislature adjourns sine die (for this session, that’s not until the end of September 2004). With that in mind, consider SB 400 by Senator Dean Florez, which would allow the state to tax services. It could raise taxes by about $30 billion a year. Senator Florez asked that a hearing on his bill be canceled early this month, and, according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (April 12), a Florez aide said the bill was dead, adding that it was introduced mainly to encourage that action be taken to address the budget shortfall.