LEGISLATION
OCTax monitors legislation at all levels of government and takes positions on bills and local measures impacting Orange County taxpayers. Below are positions we have taken in response to legislative proposals:
Oppose
AB 796 – Social Media Platforms: Advertising: Tax
AB 796 (Lowenthal)
This legislation would impose a discriminatory tax on digital advertising conducted on social media
platforms. A tax on digital advertising will increase costs for California advertisers and consumers, will
be met with legal challenges, and will negatively impact California’s business climate.
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Read the opposition letter HERE.
Support
AB 261 – Fire Safety: Fire Hazard Severity Zones: State Fire Marshal
AB 261 (Quirk-Silva)
This good government measure would strengthen the development of California’s Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) maps by authorizing the State Fire
Marshal to confer with individuals and entities, including public agencies, nonprofits, and tribes,
regarding actions affecting fire hazard severity zones between official reviews.
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Read the support letter HERE.
Support
AB 226 – California FAIR Plan Association
AB 226 (Calderon & Alvarez)
Will ensure that the Fair Access to Insurance Requirement Plan (FAIR Plan) has additional tools to ensure it has a greater claim paying capacity and is more resilient as a result of the major catastrophic events that are occurring in Southern California and will assist the admitted insurance market in hopefully returning to
normal, and competition and consumer choices are once again made available.
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Read the support letter HERE.
Oppose
AB 2829 – Digital Advertising Services Tax
OCTax Opposes AB 2829 (Papan), which would impose a discriminatory 5 percent tax on the digital advertising services of taxpayers with gross annual revenue exceeding $100 million. A tax on digital advertising will increase costs for California advertisers and consumers, will be met with numerous legal challenges, and will create a chilling effect on California’s tech industry.
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Read the opposition letter HERE.
Oppose
AB 1932 – Personal Income Tax: Mortgage Interest Deduction
Did you know that current California law allows you to deduct your mortgage interest on a loan up to $1M? (Regardless if it’s your first or second home!) AB 1932 (WARD) would ban you from deducting the interest on your second mortgage regardless if the total is still under $1M! Regardless if the second property is an ADU, home for an aging loved one, or a smaller residence near the city for commuters, a condo, or mobile home, that deduction would be eliminated!
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Contact Assembly Appropriations Committee HERE.
Read the opposition letter HERE.
Oppose
AB 2431 – Transactions And Use Tax
OCTax opposes AB 2431 (Mathis) which would authorize local governments to impose a transactions and use tax in excess of the state’s 2 percent rate cap if the sole purpose of the funding is for the seismic retrofitting of a hospital.
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Read the opposition letter HERE.
Support
AB 1779 – Theft: Jurisdiction
OCTax supports AB 1770 (Irwin) which would allow law enforcement to present cases of theft in multiple counties.
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Read the support letter HERE.
Support
AB 1802 – Crimes: Organized Theft
OCTax supports AB 1802 (Jones-Sawyer) which would indefinitely extend the organized retail theft criminal statute (P.C. §490.4) and the CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF).
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Read the support letter HERE.
Support
AB 2943 – Crimes: Shoplifting
OCTax supports AB 2943 (Zbur, R. Rivas), which is the creation of the “serial” retail thief’s criminal statute is crucial to holding repeat offenders accountable. This crime would come with a penalty of up to three years for possession of stolen property with intent to resell.
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Read the support letter HERE.
Support
AB 1960 – Sentencing Enhancements: Property Loss
OCTax supports AB 1960 (Soria) which reinstates provisions of the Penal Code authorizing sentencing enhancements for taking, damaging, or destroying property in the commission or attempted commission of a felony.
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Read the support letter HERE.
Oppose
SB 278 – Welfare And Institutions Code
Amendment
OCTax opposed SB 278 (Dodd) which would extend the liability for financial elder abuse making it easier for trial lawyers to pursue frivolous lawsuits against businesses.
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Read the opposition letter HERE.
Support
SB 581 – Third-party Litigation Financing
OCTax supports SB 581 (Caballero) which would reform third-party litigation which disproportionally hurts small businesses.
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Read the support letter HERE.
Oppose
AB 362 – Replacing Property Tax System
OCTax opposes AB 362 (Lee) which requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to study the idea of replacing the current property tax system with a "land value tax."
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Read the opposition letter HERE.
Oppose
ACA 1 – Lowering Threshold To Increase Taxes
OCTax opposes ACA 1 (Aguiar-Curry, Berman, Haney) which would allow local governments to increase taxes (e.g. parcel taxes, sales/use taxes, Mello-Ross taxes) with a 55 percent vote of the electorate instead of the two-thirds vote currently required by the California constitution-if the tax proceeds are earmarked for public infrastructure or affordable housing, as defined in the measure.
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Read the opposition letter HERE.
Oppose
ACA 11 – Abolishing State Board Of Equalization
OCTax opposes ACA 11 (Ting) which would eliminate important checks and balances between taxpayers and tax administrators by abolishing the elected State Board of Equalization (BOE).
Read the opposition letter HERE.
Oppose
ACA 13 – Shifting Power In The Legislature And Away From Voters
OC Tax is proud to join a coalition of leading businesses across the state to oppose ACA 13 ((Ward, Rivas). This initiative would amend the constitution by limiting the initiative process by shifting the power to raise the voter threshold to increase taxes in the legislature and away from the voters. ACA 13 will fundamentally change the initiative process by increasing the voter threshold to pass future limits on taxes and fees only for measures put on the ballot by signature gathering, not those put on by the Legislature. ACA 13 will change the power balance between the Legislature and voters and is yet another attempt to diminish the voice of voters as the right and necessary check-and-balance in our system of government.
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Read the opposition letter HERE.