LOWENTHALS’ TAX-BREAK-FOR-SHIPPERS BILL SWEEPS THROUGH SENATE, 37-0
By LBReport.com
The state Senate voted, 37-0, this morning to approve a measure authored by Alan and Bonnie Lowenthal that would continue permitting shippers to avoid paying California’s sales/use tax on a portion of the fuel they buy.
SB 1243, sponsored by Senator Alan Lowenthal in the Senate, thus moves on to the Assembly, where the sponsor is Assembly member Bonnie Lowenthal. The two were formerly married.
According to the state Board of Equalization, the measure would cost California from $92 million to $137.5 million each year.
3 Comments
Excellent. One of the few things our State Government is doing that I actually agree with!
The BOE statement is absurd on its face. We don’t collect sales tax on bunker fuel so nothing will be lost; if we subject the fuel to sales tax what will be lost are jobs and the income tax from those companies that will relocate to Mexico or the elsewhere as the shipping companies will look to buy the cheapest fuel available.
This story is very misleading. The LAO said the state COULD lose the money. The story says WOULD lose the money. Of course, what is not mentioned is that the LAO concedes that the state would probably never see the money since shippers would simply purchase the fuel out of state. The LAO goes on to state that because of this reality, they support the tax break, since it actually keeps jobs in California, thereby creating additional benefits for the state.