October 31, 2017 - California Competes awards income tax credits to attract or retain businesses considering a significant new investment in California. In this report, we reviewed California Competes’ experience to date in meeting the Legislature’s goals for the program.
February 21, 2018 - The Governor proposes extending the California Competes tax credit for five years. We recommend rejecting the administration’s proposal to extend the California Competes tax credit because of problems that are inherent in and unavoidable for these types of programs. If the Legislature chooses to extend California Competes, we offer several suggestions that may alleviate some of its problems.
March 30, 2020 - California Competes is an economic development tax incentive program that allows the administration to negotiate tax credit agreements with individual companies that agree to meet multiyear hiring and investment targets. In this report we provide background information about the California Competes program and the changes that the Legislature made in 2018. Next, we describe the effects of these changes on the program in 2018‑19, the first year of their implementation. We then assess how the changes have affected the administration of the California Competes program and consider whether it is more or less effective than before. Lastly, looking forward, we suggest working to find ways to expand the pool of qualified applicants and advise the Legislature to continue its oversight of the program.
January 28, 2021 - The Governor’s budget proposes several changes to taxation to support businesses. Two key factors for evaluating these proposals are: (1) which level of government would forgo revenue; and (2) which businesses would receive assistance. Based on these criteria and others, we recommend that the Legislature prioritize expansion of the Main Street credit, explore alternative structures for an elective S Corporation tax, and reject the proposed one-time expansions of the CAEATFA exclusion and California Competes.
February 20, 2024 - We analyze the Governor's proposals for new spending at the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development.
September 27, 2022 - This post discusses features of the state's spending plan that were not covered elsewhere in the 2022-23 Spending Plan series.
March 15, 2018 - In this report, we explain how the existing credit works and why so few taxpayers are claiming it. Then we describe and comment on the administration’s California Hiring Credit proposal, which would improve upon the existing credit in some respects. We conclude with some options for making more fundamental changes to the credit.
February 20, 2002 - Analysis of the 2002-03 Budget Bill, General Government Chapter
February 28, 2023 - This brief surveys research on the economic effects of state film tax credits and analyzes the Governor's proposal to extend California's film tax credit for five years.
October 30, 2002 - We review and assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of the Manufacturers’ Investment Credit.
January 30, 2009 - In this report, we identify issues and present recommendations related to the General Government portion of the budget. These include our belief that employee compensation reductions proposed by the Governor are necessary due to the magnitude of the budget problem. Nevertheless, we observe that the administration’s plans—especially savings from the furlough-will be difficult to achieve. We also note that due to the sagging economy and falling energy prices in recent months, our forecast for inflation is much lower than that used in the Governor's budget plan. Therefore we recommend the Legislature reject the price increase and direct departments to absorb any increases in operating expenses.