Legislature

The Senate voted 28-11 on August 30 to send SB 972 (Skinner), a CalTax-opposed bill requiring disclosure of confidential taxpayer information, to Governor Gavin Newsom despite concerns raised by the Franchise Tax Board that the bill could expose FTB members and staff to criminal liability. The bill would require the FTB to breach a taxpayer’s confidentiality rights by producing annual reports on corporate taxpayers with gross receipts of $5 billion or more. The mandated reports would be shared with the…

The Senate Governance and Finance Committee held a no-vote hearing August 3 on a union-backed proposal that would impose a large, retroactive personal income tax increase on income over $1 million (AB 1253, Santiago). The bill, which would increase California’s highest-in-the-nation top PIT rate of 13.3 percent to 16.8 percent, is not scheduled for a vote or any additional action. Under AB 1253, the rate would increase to 14.3 percent on adjusted income between $1 million and $2 million, 16.3…

The Assembly returned from its almost two-month recess May 4 and the Senate is scheduled to reconvene May 11, with several tax-related bills on their respective calendars. Both houses are implementing special procedures to reduce the potential for spreading the COVID-19 virus. One of this week’s Assembly committee hearings, for example, was held in the Assembly chambers, with lawmakers and staff seated far apart from one another. Public attendance was discouraged, but allowed for those whose body temperature was in…