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California Streamlined Sales Tax Bill Clears First Hurdle

The bill to make California part of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project is out of its first committee.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A bill that would add California to the list of states joining the Streamlined Sales Tax Project cleared the state Senate Revenue & Taxation Committee Wednesday on a bipartisan, 4-0 vote.

SB 157, authored by state Sen. Debra Bowen, would require California to join the "Streamlined Sales Tax Project," a group of thirty-five states and the District of Columbia that crafted the Streamlined Sales & Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA).

That agreement has already been adopted by seven states -- Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming -- and 21 others are considering complying with the agreement this year.

"Continuing to sit on the sidelines as California has done for three years while that discussion takes place shortchanges local police, fire, park, library and transportation services," Bowen said. "This isn't about 'taxing the Internet:' It's about equity, because people should be taxed on what they buy, not on how they buy it."

SB 157 will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee in April.

Office of Sen. Debra Bowen