COVID-19 has decimated businesses nationwide. Expenses have increased for business owners, small and large alike, while getting customers is still a difficult task even today.
To get customers into their restaurants, stores, hotels, etc., business have been required to purchase and maintain certain protective equipment such as physical Plexiglas barriers, additional signage, special cleaning devices, and PPE for their staff.
In California, any business can be taxed for its “personal property”, which is equipment that would be used in business activities, like shelves or cash registers. Many companies are spending the last of their resources on protective equipment to re-open and hopefully generate enough business to survive.
We believe that the State Legislature should not tax these struggling businesses for equipment that is required to make their place of business safe for customers and workers. Contact lawmakers and tell them to “support business recovery and exempt PPE from personal property taxation in California”. You can find your reps at this website: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
Robert E. Slavin, Esq.
Assessment Counselling Services, LLC
Letters to the Editor- California Personal Property Taxes and the Current COVID Crisis
June 26, 2020