The 2026-27 Budget: CDTFA’s Cannabis and Tobacco Programs

Feb 23, 2026 - Money returned to the General Fund can be spent on a much wider array of programs than those supported by the Cannabis Tax Fund. Consequently, shifting enforcement costs from the Cannabis Tax Fund to the General Fund is inefficient.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5132

Fixing Unemployment Insurance

Dec 2, 2024 - Employers pay UI taxes on the first $7,000 of each worker ’s earnings, but the vast majority of workers earn more than $7,000  in each job annually. As a result, employers pay the same amount in UI taxes on behalf of basically every employee in the state, regardless of how much that employee earns.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4943

Tax Credit Expansions in the American Rescue Plan

Apr 13, 2021 - Figure  1 below shows how childless filers ’ EITC amounts will change under the new law. As the filer ’s earnings increase, the EITC amount first grows over a phase-in range, then flattens, then gradually declines over a phase-out range until the credit reaches zero.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4410

Evaluating State Economic Stimulus Proposals

Feb 1, 2021 - The state is prohibited from borrowing money to finance state operations. In most cases, voters must approve new bond authority before the state can raise the funds —a process that increases the amount of time between when the need for stimulus is identified and when any new spending may occur.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4331

The 2025-26 Budget: Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development

Mar 18, 2025 - Some Subsidized Employment Programs Can Be Effective for Some Populations … While there are a variety of program models for subsidized employment, some have stronger evidence of success than others. Overall, most programs increase employment and earnings among participants while receiving a subsidy.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5018

The 2021-22 Budget: Business Tax Incentives

Jan 28, 2021 - Growing businesses can raise funds in two ways: they can sell stock equity or borrow money from a bank (or a non ‑depository lender). Despite the challenging economic conditions because of the pandemic, this is a remarkably good time for businesses to raise capital through either approach.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4327

California’s Low-Wage Workers and Minimum Wage

Mar 11, 2024 - These measurement errors can reduce the accuracy of the resulting estimates. Basic Setup for CPS Analyses Strategy for Unit Nonresponse: Official Survey Weights. To address unit nonresponse, we use the earnings weights calculated by the Census Bureau.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4878/4

The 2026-27 Budget: California Competes Extension

Mar 18, 2026 - Placing a limit on how quickly the pool of recycled credits can be drawn down could smooth increased fiscal impacts over a longer period. Alternatively, the total size of the California Competes credit pool could be capped to place an upper limit on the fiscal impact of a full drawdown.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5162

Effect of Returning to Historical Estimated Tax Payment Schedule

Feb 27, 2023 - (While there are penalties for underpaying estimated taxes, taxpayers with uneven income timing can avoid or minimize penalties if they make full estimated payments when they earn the income.) Figure  2 shows the share of estimated personal income tax liability paid in the first half of the year before and after the timing changes made in 2008 and 2009.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4722

Improving California’s Unemployment Insurance Program

Aug 8, 2022 - The state sets weekly UI payments based on prior earnings. Workers receive half of their average weekly earnings, based on their highest earning quarter of their base year. State law set in 2005 also caps the maximum payment at $450 per week.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4615