Managing California’s Cash

Sep 3, 2019 - As a state government, California has the power to levy taxes and cannot declare bankruptcy. These factors make the state a reliable borrower. Nonetheless, the state cannot access a credit market that is either unwilling or unable to lend to it.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4092

Common Claims About Proposition 13 [Publication Details]

Sep 19, 2016 - Proposition 13 was a landmark decision by California’s voters in June 1978 to limit property taxes. Today, there are many questions about the impacts of these changes. This report examines some of these questions and which of them can be answered by the data available. Also see the companion videos for this report.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/3497

The 2017-18 Budget: The Board of Equalization [Publication Details]

Mar 7, 2017 - In this analysis, we discuss three aspects of the State Board of Equalization’s (BOE’s) budget: (1) resources redirected to board members; (2) the administration’s 2017-18 budget proposal for BOE’s major IT project; and (3) the administration’s 2017-18 budget proposals for BOE’s tobacco tax and licensing programs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/3609

Letter to Senator Wolk on Evaluation of UCLA Film Credit Study [Publication Details]

Jun 21, 2012 - Letter to Hon. Lois Wolk, Chair of Senate Governance and Finance Committee, providing an evaluation of the February 2012 report, "Economic and Production Impacts of the 2009 California Film and Television Tax Credit."
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/2647

Assessment of Weight Fees on Farm Vehicles in California [Publication Details]

Sep 1, 1984 - The construction and maintenance of California's highway system is financed primarily with tax revenues from two sources: (I) federal and state taxes assessed on the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel, and (2)weight fees imposed on commercial vehicles weighing more than 2,000 pounds.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/3096

Long-term Capacity for Debt Payments Under Proposition 2

Dec 21, 2017 - Under these reevaluations, the rainy day fund deposit is revised up (down) if capital gains taxes were higher (lower) than the state ’s prior estimates. The state does not revisit its estimate of the base amount in the true up calculation.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3727

The 2017-18 Budget: Governor's Gann Limit Proposal [Publication Details]

Mar 2, 2017 - Under the State Constitution, state tax revenues in excess of the Prop 4 (1979) state appropriations limit, or Gann Limit, must be split between taxpayer rebates and additional school spending. The Governor now proposes a new calculation methodology that creates $22 billion in additional state spending capacity.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/3596

Statewide Minimum Wage Increasing in January [Publication Details]

Dec 6, 2016 - A new law passed in 2016 (SB 3 [Leno]) will increase California’s statewide minimum wage over a period of several years. The first increase will occur on January 1, 2017.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/3512

The Vehicle License Fee and The 2002-03 Budget [Publication Details]

Feb 20, 2002 - We provide a history of the VLF tax reductions and an explanation of the distribution of the revenues. We also answer many common questions regarding the VLF—including information about the insufficient moneys provision in current law.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/853

California's Changing Income Distribution [Publication Details]

Aug 10, 2000 - In recent decades the distribution of adjusted gross income reported on California tax returns has shifted significantly, with the share attributable to the top 20 percent of returns rising and that for the bottom 80 percent falling. We examine the changes in California's income distribution and their causes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/733