Frequently asked questions concerning Facebook and California's General Fund

Aug 1, 2012 - Facebook estimates are likely to be updated in line with this standard schedule. As we have noted in prior publications and legislative testimony  (see, for example, page 26 of our February 2012 state revenue update ), the confidentiality of individual taxpayer information means that there will never be a precise figure concerning the actual amount of Facebook IPO-related taxes paid to the state.
https://lao.ca.gov/Recommendations/Details/618

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

Mar 9, 2026 - The Nasdaq composite, which includes the California headquartered companies Nvidia, Google, Facebook, Apple, AMD, and Broadcom, has doubled since 2023. The meteoric rise in the value of these companies has led to sizable gains for their investors and their employees via stock options, which has led income tax collections to grow at double-digit rates.  
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/852

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

Mar 9, 2026 - The Nasdaq composite, which includes the California headquartered companies Nvidia, Google, Facebook, Apple, AMD, and Broadcom, has doubled since 2023. The meteoric rise in the value of these companies has led to sizable gains for their investors and their employees via stock options, which has led income tax collections to grow at double-digit rates.  
https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/article/Detail/852

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

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

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Second, any unawarded credits from the previous fiscal year can be added to the pool of available credits for the current fiscal year. Credit Pool Has Ballooned to over $923  million for the Current Year.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

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

May 18, 2012 - Figure 6 compares the LAO May 2012 revenue estimate related to the Facebook IPO with those in other recent forecasts. The IPO was announced in February and thus was not included in the Governor ’s January 2012 forecast. ( Additional information on our May 2012 Facebook IPO revenue forecast was published on this website on May 15.)
https://lao.ca.gov/Recommendations/Details/599

Housing assistance program for certain University of California employees. [Ballot]

Oct 27, 2025 - The annual cost to UC would decrease over time as old loans were paid off and the freed-up funds could be used for new loans. After about three decades, a sufficient number of old loans likely would be paid off in any given year to support new loans that year.
https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Initiative/2025-018

The 2026-27 Budget: In-Home Supportive Services

Mar 18, 2026 - Historically, counties paid 35  percent of the nonfederal share of IHSS service costs and 30  percent of the nonfederal share of IHSS administrative costs. In the early 2010s, this share of cost model was replaced with an IHSS MOE.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5166

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