Summary of LAO Findings and Recommendations on the 2012-13 Budget

Essentially, to avoid “double counting ” the Facebook income, this means that both of our revenue estimates consider the economy without Facebook and then add PIT revenues on top of those estimates to account for the IPO.
https://lao.ca.gov/laoapp/budgetlist/PublicSearch.aspx?PolicyAreaNum=70&KeyCol=596&Yr=2012

Frequently asked questions concerning Facebook and California's General Fund

Aug 1, 2012 - Frequently asked questions concerning Facebook and California's General Fund Frequently asked questions concerning Facebook and California's General Fund Program: Revenues Finding or Recommendation: This item lists answers to frequently asked questions concerning Facebook's stock and California's General Fund budget for 2012-13.
https://lao.ca.gov/Recommendations/Details/618

LAO commentary on Facebook IPO and state revenue forecasts

May 15, 2012 - State tax revenue estimates regarding Facebook, therefore, require numerous assumptions. Because of these factors, there is a large margin of error surrounding both our Facebook revenue estimates and those of the administration.
https://lao.ca.gov/Recommendations/Details/596

Background information on LAO's May 2012 economic and revenue forecasts

May 18, 2012 - Figure 5 compares the LAO May 2012 sales and use tax forecasts for 2011-12 and 2012-13 with other recent forecasts. Figure 6 compares the LAO May 2012 revenue estimate related to the Facebook IPO with those in other recent forecasts.
https://lao.ca.gov/Recommendations/Details/599

How Have Past Stock Market Downturns Affected Income Tax Revenue? [EconTax Blog]

Mar 9, 2026 - The three minor downturns  (1981, 1987, and 1990) led to income tax declines of less less than 10 percent (average of 5 percent), with revenues recovering quickly. The four major downturns were more severe, with income tax declines ranging from 17 percent to 30 percent (average of 24 percent).
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/852

How Have Past Stock Market Downturns Affected Income Tax Revenue? [EconTax Blog]

Mar 9, 2026 - The three minor downturns  (1981, 1987, and 1990) led to income tax declines of less less than 10 percent (average of 5 percent), with revenues recovering quickly. The four major downturns were more severe, with income tax declines ranging from 17 percent to 30 percent (average of 24 percent).
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/852

The 2012-13 Budget: Economic and Revenue Update [Publication Details]

Feb 27, 2012 - Like the economic data, reports concerning state revenues have been mixed recently too, with weakness in income tax payments accompanied by speculation concerning a future bonanza of tax revenues due to the possible offering of stock by Facebook, Inc.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/2578

May income tax collections, to date, are above Governor's projections

May 30, 2013 - Withholding for May 2013  has totaled  about $3.48 billion, which is  $67 million (2 percent) above May 2012 levels, despite the fact that May 2012 is believed to have included a few hundred million dollars of nonrecurring PIT withholding resulting from Facebook, Inc. ’s initial public offering.
https://lao.ca.gov/Recommendations/Details/771

^[PDF] The 2012-13 Budget: Overview of the May Revision

What Will Happen With Facebook and Capital Gains? Both our forecast and the administration’s assume that California will experience a revenue boost due to the Facebook IPO of about $2 billion spread across 2011-12 and 2012-13, assuming passage of the Governor’s tax measure.
https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2012/bud/may_revise/overview-may-revise-051812.pdf

Fiscal Outlook: Estimating Wages and Salaries [EconTax Blog]

Nov 14, 2018 - We expect workers in technology sector jobs —which includes firms conducting data processing, software development, and web search, like Google and Facebook —to see strong growth in both average wages and jobs.
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/321