U.S. Retail Sales: March 2020 [EconTax Blog]

Apr 15, 2020 - The drop in overall retail sales will hurt sales tax revenues both for the state and local governments. Due to a state General Fund exemption for fuel, gas stations are a significant source of sales tax revenue for local governments, but not for the state.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/451

Federal Stimulus Funds for Transit

Apr 15, 2020 - In California, 25 “self-help ” counties have passed local sales tax measures for transportation, a portion of which goes to transit. Also, State Transit Assistance is the state ’s largest funding program for transit and is funded by the sales tax on diesel.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4220

Income Tax Withholding Tracker: 4/6 to 4/10 [EconTax Blog]

Apr 10, 2020 - Income Tax Withholding Tracker: 4/6 to 4/10 [EconTax Blog] Income Tax Withholding Tracker: 4/6 to 4/10 April 10, 2020 Brian Uhler Bottom Line: Withholding has shown significant weakness for three weeks in a row.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/450

State Options to Expand Unemployment Benefits

Apr 9, 2020 - Weekly benefit amounts could be set based on each worker ’s most recent tax return or other proof of income. In many cases, however, ineligible workers have no way to show prior earnings. This likely is true for undocumented workers who work informally and do not file income tax returns using an Individual Tax Identification Number.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4219

State Budget Effects of Recent Federal Actions to Address COVID-19

Apr 5, 2020 - For example, if both the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County request funds, the city will receive funding based on its population and the county will receive funding based on its population excluding the city ’s population.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4217

Update on State and School District Reserves

Apr 5, 2020 - Property tax revenue, for example, arrives in two large installments (in December and April). Districts also save money for large, anticipated costs like replacing computers or unexpected costs like repairing a damaged roof.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4216

Income Tax Withholding Tracker: 3/30 to 4/3 [EconTax Blog]

Apr 3, 2020 - Income Tax Withholding Tracker: 3/30 to 4/3 [EconTax Blog] Income Tax Withholding Tracker: 3/30 to 4/3 April 3, 2020 Brian Uhler Bottom Line: Withholding has declined significantly during the last two weeks.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/448

Broad-Based Cash Assistance in COVID-19 Recovery Actions

Apr 3, 2020 - Though some of these Ca lifornians nevertheless file taxes (in many cases to qualify for federal tax credits), an unknown number do not. (The federal deadline to file 2019 tax returns was recently extended to July 15, and anyone filing by that date would appear to be eligible for the assistance.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4214

Federal Assistance for Businesses Affected by COVID-19

Apr 3, 2020 - State and federal tax laws typically require taxpayers to report forgiven loan amounts as income. However, the PPP and Health Care Enhancement Act excluded forgiven PPP loans from income for federal tax purposes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4215

Assessing Recent Changes to California Competes [Publication Details]

Mar 30, 2020 - Assessing Recent Changes to California Competes [Publication Details] Assessing Recent Changes to California Competes Format: HTML Description: 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.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4213