the Board of Equalization, somewhere Ayn Rand is laughing...
Posted on 01/13/2013 9:52:14 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
California's new 1% lumber tax has cost lumber yards thousands of dollars...raising the ire of retailers struggling to bounce back from the housing slump.
...the new law because it is full of contradictions, hidden costs and ambiguities. The tax applies to lumber and products that are at least 10% wood, although the rules are murky and lumber yards have varied interpretations of what should be taxed. The list of exclusions and caveats is numerous. Doors and moldings are not taxed, but wood shingles are. Fencing is taxed, unless the fence is made from remanufactured wood. Firewood is not taxed, although all sizes and types of lumber are.
The state passed the bill last year in a last-minute rush that allowed for little public comment; with a two-thirds majority to pass the law, there was no need to put it to voters, and most customers and contractors didn't know about the tax until Jan. 1.
...some store owners are making their own rules. Brian Ettlin, GM of Economy Lumber, is asking other stores for advice. Ettlin isn't getting much help from the Board of Equalization. "It's hugely unorganized," said George Runner, board member representing District 2. "...we know what is being taxed."
The tax affects 200,000 contractors and stores. The tax comes on top of the quarter-percent sales tax increase voters approved with Proposition 30
...retailers have to spend an average of $4,500 to upgrade their computers -- Executive Director Ken Dunham heard of one business spending $40,000. The state will reimburse retailers $250 for the upgrades, an offer stores have scoffed at. The Board of Equalization has requested $995,000 from the state to cover the cost of collecting the tax and wants to hire four new employees.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
This is a prime example of government at its WORST.
I am hopeful that messes such as this will be fixed because we now have Democrat control of all three branches of government: the Assembly, Senate AND the Governorship. (psst...snark)
Taxing the life out of the workers one law at a time. I’d leave that Death Spiral in a heartbeat if I lived there.
the Board of Equalization, somewhere Ayn Rand is laughing...
Call the board of equalization three times, ask the same question, get three different and contradictory answers. That’s been my experience with them, especially in dealing with special taxes such as this lumber one. Worse, the retailers will have to search for the rare forms that apply to the special taxes which are not to be entered on the standard sales tax report.
For a family hardware store that has a little lumber for projects, this is a nightmare of a tax. I hope, whatever they do, they do not ever tell the state that they simply included the taxes in the price of the lumber.
ElLayFriscoCalifornica would be merely pathetic, and not malignant, if they--Feinswine & Co.--weren't so determined to impose their socialist paradise on the rest of the country. Most thinking people look at recent firearm sales and CA U-Haul exit rentals and draw certain conclusions, but not the left's inner party.
You Californians should switch to plastic toothpicks, and buy plastic pens instead of wooden pencils.....
100%
“The Board of Equalization”.. Sounds so Orwellian because it is. Govt is now officially tyrranical.
LOL!
Get out of that toilet. Do it now.
Run, don’t walk.
Don’t be “the last white farmer in Zimbabwe”.
Our careers are here and it’s not that easy to change at age 61...but we are definitely counting the days!
The REAL killer to our retirement is Obastard and commiecrats. We just lost a good chunk of our retirement with all the tax law changes the bastards just enacted (we still have an appreciated California house in Silicon Valley). It’s going to make our retirement MUCH MUCH harder now. And I’m afraid they aren’t done transferring our wealth to the Obama Boys.
100%
Not by a long shot. It is what they exist to do, their sole mission.
You hit the nail on the head.
The policy that Obama has espoused since the 2008 campaign is that those who have wealth, whether earned by hard work and frugal living or by inheritance or by luck, must transfer that wealth to him and his elitist corps of socialist intellectuals who will distribute it to those they deem worthy of public largess. It is all a big scam since those judged worthy are those who support him and his political ambitions (Unions (GM), greenies (solyandra), entitlement dependents, etc.). This is AKA “sticking it to the man!” except that the “man” is now anyone who has something of value that can be confiscated by the state.
Kalipornia is never going to “come back”
Right before the New Year the Board of Equalization sent out notices to contractors that they now have to collect this tax if they use wood in their projects.
We got the notice because we used to do roofing.
Luckily we no longer do roofing but I guess they are sending the notice to all contractors even if you no longer fall in their specified category.
It was quiet a shock to see this new “assessment”.
Especially after being hit with the new Fire Tax.
They have to sell 100 million dollars worth of lumber each year JUST to pay for the extra government cost of implementing the tax.
Coincidental you mention her.. I was finally able to see Part 1 of “Atlas Shrugged”.
Can’t wait to see Part 2...
Oops.. forgot to mention I saw it (Part 1) only about 3 hours ago..
yup, one was well done, two has different characters and i hope thy do as well
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.