BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 858 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee)
          As Amended  October 7, 2010
          2/3 vote.  Urgency 

           SENATE VOTE  :Vote not relevant  
           
           SUMMARY  :  Makes various changes to state laws to implement  
          revenue provisions of the 2010-11 Budget Agreement.  
          Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Suspends the net operating loss (NOL) deduction under the  
            personal income tax (PIT) and the corporation tax (CT) for the  
            2010 and 2011 tax years. The NOL was last suspended for tax  
            years 2008 and 2009. Taxpayers with NOLs incurred prior to  
            January 1, 2008, will still have a full ten years during which  
            to utilize their NOL deductions. Thus, for taxpayers with NOLs  
            incurred prior to January 1, 2008, their carry forward period  
            will be tolled for the years of suspension and allow for the  
            full remainder of their NOL deduction. This provision delays  
            the authorization of NOL carrybacks, and applies carrybacks  
            for NOLs incurred during tax years beginning on and after  
            January 1, 2013, which shall not be applied to tax years  
            beginning prior to January 1, 2011. Thus, the carryback will  
            be available to offset taxable income in each of the prior two  
            tax years. The carryback provision will phase-in, with 50% of  
            any 2013 NOLs available for carryback, 75% of any 2014 NOLs,  
            and full carryback for NOLs in subsequent years. The  
            suspension would not apply to CT taxpayers with $300,000 or  
            less of pre-apportioned income (net business and nonbusiness  
            income before apportionment and allocation) and PIT taxpayers  
            with $300,000 or less of modified adjusted gross income (AGI).  
            This provision is expected to result in additional revenues of  
            $1.2 billion in 2010-11 and $410 million in 2011-12.
          
          2)Allows for an exemption from the application of the Large  
            Corporate Understatement Penalty (LCUP) for corporation  
            taxpayers whose understatement is below a specified percentage  
            threshold of their total tax liability. In addition to the  
            current requirement that the tax liability understatement  
            exceed $1 million for the LCUP to apply, this provision would  
            require the understatement to exceed 20% of their total tax  
            liability for the penalty to apply. Under this safe harbor  
            provision taxpayers whose understatement is less than 20% of  








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            their total tax liability would not be subject to the penalty.  
            The LCUP would thus apply to corporations whose understatement  
            of tax is in excess of 20% of their total tax liability and  
            exceeds $1 million. The LCUP would be applied to the total  
            amount of the understatement. The provision is estimated to  
            result in reduced revenues of $105 million in 2010-11 and $105  
            million in 2011-12.

          3)Provides that taxpayers who do not elect or are not eligible  
            to elect single sales factor under the corporation tax for  
            purposes of income apportionment would use cost of performance  
            in the assignment of sales of other than tangible personal  
            property. Under this provision, corporations which remain on  
            the three-factor or four-factor income apportionment method  
            would assign sales of other than tangible personal property to  
            California if the income-producing activity is performed in  
            this state or, in cases where the income-producing activity  
            occurs both in and outside this state, if a greater proportion  
            of the income-producing activity is performed in this state  
            than in any other state, based on costs of performance. This  
            provision is estimated to result in reduced revenues of $28  
            million in 2010-11 and $95 million in 2011-12.  If single  
            sales factor election is not available to any taxpayer, due to  
            the passage of Proposition 24 in November, the 2010-11 revenue  
            reduction would be approximately $10 million, with annual  
            losses of approximately $30 million thereafter. 

          4)Provides that persons that are required to report and remit  
            the use tax on the purchase of tangible personal property may  
            elect to report and remit the tax on an acceptable tax return.  
            This provision continues the inclusion of a use tax line on  
            income tax returns and allows taxpayers of income taxes to  
            fill-in the amount due in use tax on their return. Any amounts  
            due may be remitted together with the income tax remittance.  
            This provision is estimated to result in increased revenues  
            due to tax compliance with existing law of $10 million in  
            2010-11 and 2011-12.

          5)Establishes that the Board of Equalization (BOE) shall assess  
            a collection cost recovery fee for their costs associated with  
            collecting various fees and taxes from business and  
            individuals who have been non-compliant. The collection cost  
            fee will be imposed only if the BOE has mailed its demand  
            notice that advises that continued failure to pay the amount  








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            due may result in collection action, including the imposition  
            of a collection cost recovery fee. The amount of the fee will  
            be determined by the BOE and may not exceed the actual costs  
            associated with any collection efforts engaged in by the  
            agency. The fee is expected to result in fee revenues of $4.8  
            million in 2010-11 and $18 million in 2011-12.

          6)Declares this bill take effect immediately as an urgency  
            statute.

           FISCAL EFFECT:  The total combined fiscal impact of all the  
          provisions noted above would result in additional revenues of  
          $1.2 billion in 2010-11 and $240 million in 2011-12.


           Analysis Prepared by  :   Mark Ibele / BUDGET / 916-319-2099

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