AB856 - Sales and Use Tax: exemptions: manufacturing.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 856 Introduced by Assembly Member Chen February 19, 2025 An act to amend Section 6377.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 856, as introduced, Chen. Sales and Use Tax: exemptions: manufacturing. Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes 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 provides various exemptions from those taxes, including a partial exemption from those taxes, on and after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2030, for the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, among other things, qualified tangible personal property purchased by a qualified person for purchases not exceeding $200,000,000, for use primarily in manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of tangible personal property, as specified. Existing law requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to provide a report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Department of Finance of, among other things, the total dollar amount of exemptions, as specified. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2031. This bill would, instead, extend the above-described partial exemption from those taxes until January 1, 2031, and would remove the above-described reporting requirement pertaining to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The bill would make various conforming changes and repeal these provisions on January 1, 2036. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would require the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, if requested by the Legislature, to submit a report to the Legislature on the exemption and would provide findings and declarations relating to the goals of the exemption. 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 requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 6377.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read: 6377.1. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (e), on or after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2030, January 1, 2031, there are exempted from the taxes imposed by this part the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, any of the following: (1) Qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily in any stage of the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of tangible personal property, beginning at the point any raw materials are received by the qualified person and introduced into the process and ending at the point at which the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling has altered tangible personal property to its completed form, including packaging, if required. (2) Qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily in research and development. (3) Qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily to maintain, repair, measure, or test any qualified tangible personal property described in paragraph (1) or (2). (4) Qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a contractor purchasing that property for use in the performance of a construction contract for the qualified person, that will use that property as an integral part of the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling process, the generation or production, or storage and distribution, of electric power, or as a research or storage facility for use in connection with those processes. (5) Qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily in the generation or production, or storage and distribution, of electric power. (b) For purposes of this section: (1) “Department” means the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. (2) “Fabricating” means to make, build, create, produce, or assemble components or tangible personal property to work in a new or different manner. (3) “Generation or production” means the activity of making, producing, creating, or converting electric power from sources other than a conventional power source, as defined in Section 2805 of the Public Utilities Code. (4) “Manufacturing” means the activity of converting or conditioning tangible personal property by changing the form, composition, quality, or character of the property for ultimate sale at retail or use in the manufacturing of a product to be ultimately sold at retail. Manufacturing includes any improvements to tangible personal property that result in a greater service life or greater functionality than that of the original property. (5) “Primarily” means 50 percent or more of the time. (6) “Process” means the period beginning at the point at which any raw materials are received by the qualified person and introduced into the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling activity of the qualified person and ending at the point at which the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling activity of the qualified person has altered tangible personal property to its completed form, including packaging, if required. Raw materials shall be considered to have been introduced into the process when the raw materials are stored on the same premises where the qualified person’s manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling activity is conducted. Raw materials that are stored on premises other than where the qualified person’s manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling activity is conducted shall not be considered to have been introduced into the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling process. (7) “Processing” means the physical application of the materials and labor necessary to modify or change the characteristics of tangible personal property. (8) (A) “Qualified person” means: (i) Prior to January 1, 2018, a person that is primarily engaged in those lines of business described in Codes 3111 to 3399, inclusive, 541711, or 541712 of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) published by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 2012 edition. (ii) On and after January 1, 2018, and before July 1, 2030, January 1, 2031, a person that is primarily engaged in those lines of business described in Codes 3111 to 3399, inclusive, 221111 to 221118, inclusive, 221122, 541711, or 541712 of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) published by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 2012 edition. (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), “qualified person” shall not include either of the following: (i) Prior to January 1, 2018, an apportioning trade or business that is required to apportion its business income pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25128 or a trade or business conducted wholly within this state that would be required to apportion its business income pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25128 if it were subject to apportionment pursuant to Section 25101. (ii) On and after January 1, 2018, and before July 1, 2030, January 1, 2031, an apportioning trade or business, other than a trade or business described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25128, that is required to apportion its business income pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25128, or a trade or business, other than a trade or business described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25128, conducted wholly within this state that would be required to apportion its business income pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25128 if it were subject to apportionment pursuant to Section 25101. (9) (A) “Qualified tangible personal property” includes, but is not limited to, all of the following: (i) Machinery and equipment, including component parts and contrivances such as belts, shafts, moving parts, and operating structures. (ii) Equipment or devices used or required to operate, control, regulate, or maintain the machinery, including, but not limited to, computers, data-processing equipment, and computer software, together with all repair and replacement parts with a useful life of one or more years therefor, whether purchased separately or in conjunction with a complete machine and regardless of whether the machine or component parts are assembled by the qualified person or another party. (iii) Tangible personal property used in pollution control that meets standards established by this state or any local or regional governmental agency within this state. (iv) (I) Prior to January 1, 2018, special purpose buildings and foundations used as an integral part of the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling process, or that constitute a research or storage facility used during those processes. Buildings used solely for warehousing purposes after completion of those processes are not included. (II) On and after January 1, 2018, and before July 1, 2030, January 1, 2031, special purpose buildings and foundations used as an integral part of the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling process, or that constitute a research or storage facility used during those processes, or the generation or production or storage and distribution of electric power. Buildings used solely for warehousing purposes after completion of those processes are not included. (B) “Qualified tangible personal property” shall not include any of the following: (i) Consumables with a useful life of less than one year. (ii) Furniture, inventory, and equipment used in the extraction process, or equipment used to store finished products that have completed the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling process. (iii) Tangible personal property used primarily in administration, general management, or marketing. (10) “Refining” means the process of converting a natural resource to an intermediate or finished product. (11) “Research and development” means those activities that are described in Section 174 of the Internal Revenue Code or in any regulations thereunder. (12) “Storage and distribution” means storing or distributing through the electric grid, but not transmission of, electric power to consumers regardless of source. (13) (A) “Useful life” for tangible personal property that is treated as having a useful life of one or more years for state income or franchise tax purposes shall be deemed to have a useful life of one or more years for purposes of this section. “Useful life” for tangible personal property that is treated as having a useful life of less than one year for state income or franchise tax purposes shall be deemed to have a useful life of less than one year for purposes of this section. For the purposes of this paragraph, tangible personal property that is deducted under Sections 17201 and 17255 or Section 24356 shall be deemed to have a useful life of one or more years. (B) The department shall cancel any outstanding and unpaid deficiency determination and any related penalties and interest and shall not issue any deficiency determination or notice of determination, with respect to unpaid sales and use tax on qualified property with a useful life, as defined in subparagraph (A), that was purchased or leased on or after July 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2018. Any amounts paid by a qualified person pursuant to such determination shall be refunded by the department to the qualified person. Any cancellation or refund described in this subparagraph is contingent upon a qualified person making a request to the department, in a manner prescribed by the department, by June 30, 2018. (c) An exemption shall not be allowed under this section unless the purchaser furnishes the retailer with an exemption certificate, completed in accordance with any instructions or regulations as the department may prescribe, and the retailer retains the exemption certificate in its records and furnishes it to the department upon request. (d) (1) Notwithstanding the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 7200)) and the Transactions and Use Tax Law (Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 7251)), the exemption established by this section shall not apply with respect to any tax levied by a county, city, or district pursuant to, or in accordance with, either of those laws. (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the exemption established by this section shall not apply with respect to any tax levied pursuant to Section 6051.2 or 6201.2, pursuant to Section 35 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, or any tax levied pursuant to Section 6051 or 6201 that is deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Local Revenue Fund 2011 pursuant to Section 6051.15 or 6201.15. (e) (1) The exemption provided by this section shall not apply to either of the following: (A) Any tangible personal property purchased during any calendar year that exceeds two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) of purchases of qualified tangible personal property for which an exemption is claimed by a qualified person under this section. For purposes of this subparagraph, in the case of a qualified person that is required to be included in a combined report under Section 25101 or authorized to be included in a combined report under Section 25101.15, the aggregate of all purchases of qualified personal property for w [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]