On Aug. 11, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) held the latest Interested Parties Meeting (IPM) in its three-year long project to amend the state’s alternative apportionment petition regulation. The meeting covered changes in the latest proposed regulation language (PDF) and provided taxpayers with the opportunity to voice concerns regarding potential gaps and
California
Hearing Held on Controversial California Corporate Tax Disclosure Bill
On Aug. 11, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee held a hearing on S.B. 972, a controversial bill that authorizes the disclosure of otherwise confidential taxpayer information.
S.B. 972 requires the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to compile an annual list of all taxpayers, including combined reporting groups, subject to California’s Corporation Tax Law with gross…
California’s Flawed Proposal to Expand False Claims Act to Tax
In a forthcoming article in State Tax Notes, Eversheds Sutherland SALT partner Jeff Friedman and associate Dennis Jansen explore the issues with A.B. 2570 – California’s latest attempt to extend the state’s whistleblower statute to tax claims.
The bill is purportedly designed in increase revenues by targeting tax fraud. However, instead of exposing tax…
California Court of Appeal Finds That Sourcing of Income for Individuals Applies to Trusts
The California Court of Appeal held that California income tax applies to the entire amount of trust income that is derived from California sources, even though a trust is managed in part by a non-resident trustee. The taxpayer had requested a refund on income taxes paid on capital gains, claiming that the income was incorrectly…
California DTFA Adopts Emergency Marketplace Sales Regulation
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration adopted an emergency regulation to clarify and resolve specified issues with the California Marketplace Facilitator Act (CMFA), as amended. The regulation clarifies, among other things, the registration requirements for marketplace facilitators and marketplace sellers and provides definitions for terms left undefined by the CMFA and relevant…
California’s Ninth Circuit Says Deprivation of $3.76 is Enough for Standing
The Ninth Circuit concluded that a plaintiff had standing to continue her lawsuit against a clothing company alleging that the company wrongly failed to pay interest on refunded Alaska sales taxes. After a related lawsuit was filed alleging that sales taxes were incorrectly collected, LuLaRoe, Inc. refunded the plaintiff $531.25 in sales tax charges. The…
California Court Rules That Sale of Existing Leasehold Interest Not Subject to Documentary Transfer Tax
A California Court of Appeal held that San Francisco may not impose a documentary transfer tax on the value of an existing 41-year leasehold interest upon the sale of the underlying property because the leasehold interest does not constitute “realty sold”. The taxpayer owned a commercial building and agreed to lease the ground floor to…
Let Them Fight: California Court of Appeal Holds Voter-Initiated Local Special Taxes Not Subject to Constitutional Two-Thirds Supermajority Voting Requirement
On June 30, 2020, a California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court decision that held the California Constitution’s requirement that local taxes be approved by a supermajority vote does not apply to taxes imposed by voter initiative. For background on the case and coverage of the trial court’s decision, see our prior Legal Alert…
How Does California Source Sales of Services and Intangibles for Apportionment Purposes?
California uses market-based sourcing to apportion sales of other than tangible personal property to the state. Under the governing statute, sales of services are sourced to California to the extent the purchaser of the service receives the benefit in the state.1 Sales of intangible personal property are sourced to California to the extent the…
California Governor Signs Budget Bill Including Tax Increases
Following up on our recent coverage of the California budget negotiations, on June 29th Governor Newsom signed a package of bills comprising the state’s budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The budget package is composed of the primary budget bills, AB 89 and SB 74, along with numerous budget trailer bills. One trailer…



