Impact of COVID-19 on State Transportation Revenues

Sep 17, 2020 - Funding for STIP comes from a specified portion of the gasoline excise tax, with 75  percent allocated to counties on a formula basis for projects they select and 25  percent to Caltrans for interregional projects.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4268?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=4268

U.S. Retail Sales Update: August 2020 [EconTax Blog]

Sep 16, 2020 - U.S. retail sales rose by 0.6 percent from July to August, making sales in August 2020 2.6 percent higher than sales in August 2019.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/545

Local Government Control [Ballot]

Sep 15, 2020 - To finance the responsibilities shifted to counties in 201 1, the state annually allocates a portion of state sales tax revenue directly to counties. In 2020-21, the state will provide about $1.2  billion in realignment revenue to counties.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2020-002

Card Spending Update: August 2020 [EconTax Blog]

Sep 11, 2020 - To do this, we use an index—a weighted average of different spending categories—designed to track movements in California’s sales tax base. In this post, we update the index to include August data. Card Data: Growth Continued in August...
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/543

Income Tax Withholding Tracker: September 7 - September 11 [EconTax Blog]

Sep 11, 2020 - Income Tax Withholding Tracker: September 7 - September 11 [EconTax Blog] Income Tax Withholding Tracker: September 7 - September 11 September 11, 2020 Brian Uhler Bottom Line:   California income tax withholding has run slightly behind 2019 over the past two weeks.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/541

The 2020-21 Budget: Labor Agreements to Achieve Budgetary Savings

Sep 9, 2020 - The pay that employees receive in a typical pay period —salary plus EDWC —affects employee pension benefits and is subject to Medicare payroll taxes. (Employees in specialty classifications represented by Unit 8 —including foresters, forestry aids, and fire prevention specialists —are compensated more similarly to other state employees based on a 40-hour workweek.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4267

Income Tax Withholding Tracker: August 31 - September 4 [EconTax Blog]

Sep 4, 2020 - Income Tax Withholding Tracker: August 31 - September 4 [EconTax Blog] Income Tax Withholding Tracker: August 31 - September 4 September 4, 2020 Brian Uhler Bottom Line:   California income tax withholding ran about even with 2019 this week after accounting for the timing of Labor Day .
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/539

Building Permits Update: July 2020 [EconTax Blog]

Aug 31, 2020 - Nearly 60 percent of the state total came from just two counties: Los Angeles, which recorded its biggest monthly total since January, and Santa Clara, which had its biggest month since 2018. Nonresidential construction permits were slightly lower in July than in June.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/536

An Update on California’s Cash Management Situation

Aug 31, 2020 - Agency Cash Versus Controller ’s Cash The state ’s main tax revenue agencies (namely, the Franchise Tax Board and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration) collect tax payments and then transmit those payments to the State Controller ’s Office.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4266

Income Tax Withholding Tracker: August 24 - August 28 [EconTax Blog]

Aug 28, 2020 - Income Tax Withholding Tracker: August 24 - August 28 [EconTax Blog] Income Tax Withholding Tracker: August 24 - August 28 August 28, 2020 Brian Uhler Bottom Line:   California income tax withholding had a surprising surge this week, and total collections since late March are now 0.8 percent above  the comparable period in 2019.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/535