Building Reserves to Prepare for a Recession

Mar 7, 2018 - By most measures, the recession of the early 1990s was more severe than the dot ‑com bust in the early 2000s. For example, unemployment in California reached 9. 7  p ercent in mid ‑ to late ‑1992, but peaked at 6. 9  p ercent after the dot ‑com bust.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3769

Managing California’s Cash

Sep 3, 2019 - After a period of relative calm in the mid ‑ and late ‑1990s, California faced another series of years with acute budget problems following the dot ‑com bust and ensuing recession. Although the dot ‑com bust was relatively mild in economic terms, it hit the California budget —which is particularly reliant on the Bay Area ’s technology sector —especially hard.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4092

The 2025-26 Budget: California’s Film Tax Credit

Feb 28, 2025 - Since the credit is consistently oversubscribed, increasing t he annual cap would likely result in a corresponding increase in credits awarded. Legislature ’s Response to Proposal Should Depend on the Importance of Protecting Hollywood Relative to Other Goals.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5000

The 2019-20 Budget: Tax Conformity

Mar 6, 2019 - Given the increase to the federal standard deduction, we expect that many fewer filers will itemize their deductions in 2018 t han in previous years. As a result, fewer Californians will take the SALT deduction on their federal taxes.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3959

Annual Report on Tax Exemptions for Medicinal Cannabis

Jul 1, 2021 - In 2020, licensees identified 13, 278 t ransactions as medicinal donations. The data do not tell us who received each donation. Some patients likely received more than one donation in 2020, so this total likely overstates the number of distinct patients.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4447

The 2019-20 Budget: Analysis of Proposed Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion

Mar 6, 2019 - First, the income limits were raised from $22, 300 t o $24,950 for filers with dependents and from $15, 000 t o $16,750 for workers with no dependents. This increased the number of workers eligible for the state credit.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3960

The 2018-19 Budget: California’s New Tax Departments

Apr 4, 2018 - The administration notified the Legislature it was making such a transfer of $2. 2  m illion in February, bringing OTA ’s total budget for 2017 ‑ 18 t o more than $ 7  m illion. New Laws Directed OTA to Hear Appeals in Three Offices.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3796

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - Of course, some workers at these ages presumably move from low-wage jobs to mid-to-high-wage jobs, but such movement does not appear to be much larger than movemen t in the opposite direction. Substantial Share of Workers in Their Late Thirties Are in Low-Wage Jobs.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/2

Evaluation of a Sales Tax Exemption for Certain Manufacturers

Dec 11, 2018 - It then multiplies this increase in output by: ( 1)  t he share of the applicant ’s products projected to be sold in California, and ( 2)  t he sales tax rate. This calculation overstates sales tax revenue for two reasons: Assumes Products Would Not Be Made Elsewhere.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3907

How High? Adjusting California’s Cannabis Taxes

Dec 17, 2019 - In addition to the three main criteria identified above, the Legislature also may wish to consider other criteria, such as: ( 1)  t he extent to which a tax could help the legal market compete effectively with the illicit market; ( 2)  t he extent to which a tax would create arbitrary cost differences between very low ‑THC cannabis products and similar hemp products; ( 3)  t he difficulty of implementing the change.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4125