AB 176

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to advocate for causes of small business and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. Existing law establishes various grant programs within CalOSBA including the California Small Business Development Technical Assistance Expansion Program to provide grants to eligible nonprofit performing arts organizations, as defined, to encourage workforce development, the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program to assist qualified small businesses affected by COVID-19, the California Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grant Program to assist qualified microbusinesses that have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the California Venues Grant Program within CalOSBA to assist independent live events that have been affected by COVID-19 in order to support their continued operation. This bill would make technical and clarifying changes to the programs listed above, including to the definition of "qualified small business" for purposes of the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. (2) Existing law establishes, until December 31, 2022, the California Nonprofit Performing Arts Grant Program within CalOSBA. The program provides grants to eligible nonprofit performing arts organizations, as defined, to encourage workforce development. Existing law authorizes, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, $50,000,000 of program funds to be allocated in one or more rounds to eligible nonprofit performing arts organizations. Existing law provides that grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis in specified amounts based upon annual gross revenue. This bill would change the amount of program funds to be allocated to the eligible nonprofit performing arts organizations to $49,500,000. The bill would provide that a registered 501(c) (3) nonprofit entity may be eligible without regard to its annual gross revenue if it serves as a fiscal sponsor for entities that are qualified small businesses, as specified. (3) Existing law establishes a California Competes Grant Program, authorizing GO-Biz to provide grants to an applicant that meets specified criteria relating to the creation of jobs or investments in the state, as provided. That law provides that the California Competes Tax Credit Committee may recapture a grant made under the California Competes Grant Program, in whole or in part, if the qualified grantee fails to fulfill the terms and conditions of the written agreement between the committee and the grant recipient. Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to perform the recapture of grant proceeds in coordination with the committee. This bill would extend the above-referenced recapture provisions to include the California Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grant Program and the California Venues Grant Program, and would make other technical and clarifying changes to the California Competes Grant Program. (4) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in conformity with federal income tax law, generally defines "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides for various exclusions. Existing law excludes from gross income, under both laws, the grant allocations received pursuant to the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. Existing law additionally provides for an exclusion from gross income under the Personal Income Tax Law for grant allocations received by a taxpayer pursuant to the California Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Program. This bill would, under both the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, for taxable years beginning on or after September 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2023, exclude from gross income grant allocations received by a taxpayer pursuant to the California Venues Grant Program. This bill would also, under the Corporation Tax Law, for taxable years beginning on or after September 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2023, exclude from gross income grant allocations received by a taxpayer pursuant the California Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Program. (5) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2027, a credit in an amount between $2,500 and $10,000, to a qualified taxpayer that employs an individual who is or recently was homeless, and who meets other specified requirements. This bill, with regard to the employment credit described above, would revise provisions relating to certification procedures for the qualified taxpayer and the employed individual. Existing law allows a motion picture credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2020, and before July 1, 2025, in an amount equal to 20% or 25% of qualified expenditures for the production of a qualified motion picture in this state. Existing law also allows a credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2032, in an amount equal to 20% or 25%, or as modified, of qualified expenditures for the production of a qualified motion picture in this state at a certified studio construction project. Existing law requires an applicant for the certified studio construction project credit to provide certain information to the California Film Commission, including a diversity work plan stating the diversity goals the motion picture will seek to achieve in terms of qualified wages paid by race and gender. Existing law requires the diversity goals to be broadly reflective of California's population, in terms of race and gender, and requires the California Film Commission to approve or reject an applicant's diversity workplan, to the extent allowed by federal and state law. This bill would provide that the California Film Commission, rather than GO-Biz, is the agency responsible for adopting regulations to implement the motion picture film credit. The bill, with regard to the certified studio construction project credit, would require the diversity work plan to additionally include diversity goals the motion picture will seek to achieve in terms of qualified wages paid by ethnicity, and would require those goals to be broadly reflective of California's population, in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender. (6) Existing law establishes various collaborative duties for the Franchise Tax Board and the Legislative Analyst's Office with regard to the CalCompetes tax credit, a credit against the taxes imposed under the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in order to aid the Legislature in determining whether the credit meets various goals, purposes, and objectives. This bill would revise the performance indicators used in determining whether the credit meets its various goals, purposes, and objectives and would provide that the Legislative Analyst's Office instead collaborate with GO-Biz. (7) Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to collect certain delinquencies related to vehicles, including, but not limited to, unpaid tolls, toll evasion penalties, and any related administrative or service fee, as though the delinquencies are taxes, as specified, and allows those delinquent amounts to be collected in any manner authorized under law as though those delinquent amounts were a tax due under the Personal Income Tax Law, including by issuance of an order and levy for earnings withholding. Existing law authorizes specified charges, including fines, state or local penalties, bail, forfeitures, restitution fines, restitution orders, or any other amounts imposed by a juvenile or superior court of the State of California, or by the Supreme Court, that are due and payable in an amount totaling less than $100 to be referred to the Franchise Tax Board for collection. This bill, for any levy or order issued on or after January 1, 2022, under the collection authority described above, would limit the maximum amount of disposable earnings of a debtor subject to collection to a specified amount. The bill would also exclude from collection the minimum basic standard of care amount, as described, with a specified exception. (8) Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law generally provides that the taxes are due and payable to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration quarterly on or before the last day of the month next succeeding each quarterly period and requires, for purposes of sales tax, a return to be filed by a seller that contains, among other information, the gross receipts of the seller during the preceding reporting period. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law, with respect to specified vehicles sold at retail on and after January 1, 2021, by a licensed dealer, except a new motor vehicle dealer, requires the dealer to pay the applicable sales tax to the Department of Motor Vehicles acting for and on behalf of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration within 30 days from the date of the sale. This bill, additionally, would require the dealer to pay the applicable use tax imposed under the Transactions and Use Tax Law, and would make these provisions applicable to a motor vehicle, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes and would declare these amendments do not constitute a change in, but are declaratory of, existing law. The bill would authorize the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish a compliance schedule based upon operational needs to effectively enforce the collection of taxes, as specified. (9) This bill would make various technical and nonsubstantive changes. (10) This bill would appropriate $10,000 from the General Fund to the Office of Small Business Advocate in the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to implement these provisions. (11) The bill would make its provisions severable. (12) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.