AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 17, 2024

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

95

CHAPTER 119

Statutes of 2024

[ Approved by Governor July 15, 2024. Filed with Secretary of State July 15, 2024. ]

TAX LEVY

Introduced by Assembly Member Mike Fong

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Berman, Sanchez, and Ting)

February 16, 2024

An act to add Section 17131.14 to the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal law, generally defines “gross income” as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides various exclusions from gross income for purposes of computing tax liability.

Existing law generally provides for the reimbursement of victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes by the California Victim Compensation Board from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for specified losses suffered as a result of those crimes.

This bill would exclude from gross income any payment received from the California Victim Compensation Board pursuant to specified law.

This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 17131.14 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

17131.14.

Gross income does not include any payment received from the California Victim Compensation Board pursuant to Sections 13955 and 13970 of the Government Code.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares the following with respect to the exclusion from gross income allowed by Section 17131.14 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as added by Section 1 of this act:

(a) This act is necessary for the purpose of preventing further hardship to victims of crime who receive payments from the California Victim Compensation Board.

(b) The Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 74-74, 1974-1 C.B. 18, concluding that payments from the Crime Victims Compensation Board of the State of New York to crime victims are not included in gross income, as defined in Section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code, of the recipients for federal income tax purposes because they are disbursed from a general welfare fund in the interest of the general public.

(c) As California conforms to the definition of gross income under Section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code, it is the intent of the Legislature to codify that payments from the California Victim Compensation Board are excluded from gross income for state income tax purposes.

SEC. 3.

This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.