Business News
SACRAMENTO – Board of Equalization (BOE) First District Member Betty T. Yee is reminding taxpayers that as they file their income tax returns, due this April 18, to report and pay the amount of use tax owed.
“The dollars lost to California in unpaid use tax significantly impact the State’s publicly funded programs and affect all Californians,” said Yee.
Use tax is what is owed by the consumer on items purchased from out-of-state retailers that do not collect sales or use tax. That includes purchases made through the Internet, mail-order or over the phone.
Use tax has been law since 1935 in California.
The easiest way for a consumer to report and pay use tax is on the Franchise Tax Board State Income Tax return. On the line called “Use Tax,” a consumer should put the amount of use tax owed and send in the payment.
Use tax owed is calculated based on the purchase price of the item and sales tax rate in your local area.
Sales tax rates in California range from 8.25 percent to 10.75 percent, depending upon where you live.
Consumers should retain their receipts and invoices and check to see if sales or use tax was collected at the time of sale.
Consumers should also look for other indications that there is no use tax obligation, or that it has been taken care of, for example a notation that the item was shipped from within the state, or an invoice or statement that California tax requirements have been met.
While the simplest way for a consumer to pay use tax is through the use tax line on the income tax return, consumers may also register with the BOE for a consumer use tax account to report and pay use tax.
Retailers registered with the BOE are required to pay use tax with their regular sales tax returns.
Service industry businesses with gross receipts of over $100,000 are required through legislation passed in 2009 to register with the BOE as a “qualified purchaser” for the purpose of paying use tax.
For more information about use tax, visit www.boe.ca.gov.
Yee was elected to her post in November 2006. Her district includes many of California's coastal counties, from Del Norte to Santa Barbara, and includes the entire San Francisco Bay Area, as well as Lake County.
The five-member California State Board of Equalization is a publicly elected tax board.
The BOE collects more than $48 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services.
It hears business tax appeals, acts as the appellate body for franchise and personal income tax appeals, and serves a significant role in the assessment and administration of property taxes.
For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit www.taxes.ca.gov.
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SACRAMENTO – Low-interest Federal disaster loans are now available to California small businesses that have suffered financial losses due to the closure of the April 10 through Sept. 30, 2010, California Salmon fishery season, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Karen G. Mills announced Thursday.
By declaring a disaster, Administrator Mills’ action makes low interest Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) available immediately to help meet financial needs caused by the closure of the 2010 salmon fishery season.
SBA acted under its own authority to declare a disaster following a March 25 request from Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s designated representative, Mike Dayton, acting secretary of California Emergency Management Agency.
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) lauded Mills’ decision to provide the low-interest disaster relief loans
Sen. Boxer’s office worked with the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to secure disaster relief after hearing from Californians devastated by recent closures.
“This vital assistance will provide much-needed relief to California fishermen and other small businesses recovering from recent fishery closures and three years of poor salmon seasons.”
After two years of widespread salmon fishery closures due to poor salmon returns, the Pacific Fishery Management Council was only able to open the commercial salmon season for eight days in 2010.
The declaration covers the coastal California counties (from North to South) of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara and the additional neighboring counties of Alameda, Glenn, Kern, Kings, Lake, Merced, Napa, San Benito, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, Tehama and Trinity and the neighboring Oregon counties of Curry and Josephine.
SBA is offering working capital loans of up to $2 million at an interest rate of 4 percent for businesses and 3 percent for private, non-profit organizations with terms up to 30 years.
“SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. These loans can provide vital economic assistance to fishing and fishing-dependent businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing,” said Alfred E. Judd, Director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center – West.
“SBA customer service representatives will be in the affected communities along the California coast to meet individually with business owners to answer questions about SBA’s EIDL assistance, issue loan applications, explain the application process, and help them complete their applications,” Judd said.
Some eligible business owners include: small businesses engaged in salmon fishing in the waters affected by the closure (employees or crew members are not small businesses and are not eligible), and small businesses dependent on the catching or sale of salmon, including suppliers of fishing gear and fuel, docks, boatyards, processors, wholesalers, shippers, and retailers, and other small businesses dependent on revenue from the above.
“We recognize that some affected businesses may be reluctant to seek a loan to meet their immediate financial needs, but we encourage each business to learn how an SBA disaster loan can help them recover from the closure of the 2010 fishery season,” Judd emphasized.
SBA representatives will be available at the following locations on the days and times indicated. No appointment is necessary.
DEL NORTE COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Crescent Harbor Art Gallery
140 A Marine Way
(located above the Crescent
Harbor Art Gallery)
Crescent City, CA 95531
Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Closes Thursday, April 21
HUMBOLDT COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Woodley Island Marina
(conference room)
601 Startare Drive
Eureka, CA 95501
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Opens Tuesday, April 5
Closes Wednesday, April 20
MENDOCINO COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Salmon Trollers Marketing Association
19292 South Harbor Drive
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
Thursdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Fridays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Opens Thursday, April 7
Closes Friday, April 22
SONOMA COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Grange Hall (dining hall)
1370 Bodega Avenue
(corner of Bodega Ave. and Hwy 1)
Bodega Bay, CA 94923
Mondays, 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Opens Monday, April 4
Closes Tuesday, April 19
SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Port of San Francisco – Fisherman’s Wharf – Harbor Office, Pier 47
(across from Scoma’s Restaurant)
San Francisco, CA 94111
Wednesdays, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Opens Wednesday, April 6
Closes Wednesday, April 20
SAN MATEO COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Pillar Point Harbor
One Johnson Pier
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Thursdays, 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Fridays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Opens Thursday, April 7
Closes Friday, April 22
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
The Harbor Public Meeting Room
365 A Lake Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Mondays, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Opens Monday, April 4
Closes Monday, April 18
MONTEREY COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Moss Landing Harbor District (boardroom)
7881 Sandholdt Road
Moss Landing, CA 95039
Tuesdays, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., and 1p.m. – 5 p.m.
Opens Tuesday, April 12
Closes Wednesday, April 20
MONTEREY COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Monterey Youth Center
777 East Pearl St.
Monterey, CA 93940
Thursdays, 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Fridays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Opens Thursday, April 7
Closes Friday, April 22
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
Disaster Loan Outreach Center
Central Coast Women for Fisheries, Inc.
1287 Embarcadero
Morro Bay, CA 93442
Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Opens Tuesday, April 5
Closes Thursday, April 7
Disaster loan information and application forms are also available from SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling SBA toll-free at 800-659-2955, emailing
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
The filing deadline to return economic injury applications is Jan. 3, 2012.
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