With thousands of California businesses using relief funding to make it through the COVID-19 economic downturn, new state legislation, SB 265, is under consideration to ensure they are not taxed on it.
“This money is meant to be emergency relief,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, told the Northern California Record. “The state should not be benefitting on the back end from the emergency funding on the front end. It defies logic as to the real purpose for the emergency funding.”
California has not fully conformed to federal laws exempting pandemic relief from taxes.
“What we are frankly advocating for is that the governor incorporate this in the next early action budget bill, which could come as early as [this] week,” Borgeas said.
With tax deadlines just weeks away, Borgeas said it’s crucial people are aware of the potential tax liabilities – and for SB 265 to be acted on so they don’t get an unexpected hefty tax bill for what they thought was exempted.
For some of the businesses receiving relief funds, a tax penalty could reverse the progress made toward economic recovery.
Borgeas noted that the impetus for SB 265 came from SB 74, the bipartisan Keep California Working Act, which the governor also acted on as emergency legislation.
“When we were working on it, I asked my staff to make sure that 74 is not taxable,” Borgeas said. “So it begged the question what is a taxable event – that’s why we introduced 265; this is almost like a continuity on policy stemming from the Keep California Working Act.”
SB 265 would apply retroactively to those who have already received pandemic-relief funds and to those who receive new funding.
“People should know that if they received emergency funding, currently it’s possibly a taxable event; 265 is designed to make sure California does not to do that, so it needs to be passed or incorporated into the budget bill [this] week,” Borgeas said.
“I’m optimistic,” Borgeas said. “If they don’t, we will continue to advocate the merits of this and as people become more aware, residents themselves may become a louder voice in the governor’s ear.”