By CalTax President Robert Gutierrez and California Manufacturers & Technology Association President Lance Hastings
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters.org and appeared in the Marin Independent Journal, Los Angeles Daily News, Orange County Register, and other newspapers.
California, which leads the nation in innovation, attracts no more than 1 percent of new manufacturing investment in the United States. Why? Because it double-taxes production.
By that we mean our state taxes both the production equipment and the product. California can attract new production investment if the state removes the tax that burdens manufacturers trying to grow. Assembly Member Tim Grayson and 11 co-authors have introduced Assembly Bill 1951, which would eliminate the sales tax on manufacturing equipment purchases in most cases.
Thirty-eight states already have dropped taxes on the purchase of manufacturing equipment because…Read More