Last week, the California Commission on the 21st Century Economy discussed a proposal to impose a business net receipts tax (NRT) replacing existing business taxes, in part or in whole. The proposed NRT appears to be similar to gross receipts taxes imposed by other states such as Michigan's Business Tax and Texas' Margin Tax (Franchise Tax).

On March 27, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger issued an Executive Order to establish the Commission and examine California's tax system, searching for ways to modernize its tax system and eliminate the "ups and downs" of its tax revenues.

The likelihood that the proposal would actually be considered and passed is unknown at the moment; however, with the state's budget crisis only getting worse, I wouldn't rule anything out.

To read an analysis of the Commission's proposal, please click on the following link: http://www.cotce.ca.gov/

In addition, the California Manufacturers and Technology Association (CMTA) is following this proposal and has a nice write-up on their site as well. Click on the following link to access their write-up: http://www.cmta.net/legupdate.php?legupdate_id=1535

If you have any questions, please contact me at leveragesalt@earthlink.net.