Sales Tax

California Has No Clue How Much Money It's Making From Marijuana Sales

Most government agencies in California prefer to pretend that the state's medical cannabis industry doesn't exist. The state Board of Equalization is an exception -- and with good reason. State sales taxes are due on every medical marijuana transaction, and the BOE has spent time over the past few ... More >>

Tax "Cheat" Or Hero? Medical Marijuana Tax Revolt Brewing.

Taxes are never far from Dave Hodges's mind. According to the state, Hodges, the founder and operator of the All American Cannabis Club in San Jose, owes almost a quarter million in back taxes. According to Hodges, the state owes him -- about $11,000, in taxes he "mistakenly" paid.Like every other m ... More >>

Sales Tax: San Francisco Left in the Dust

San Francisco is an expensive place to be if you're paying a parking ticket or writing out a rent check or purchasing real estate. We've got that covered. But, when it comes to obtaining a bottle of juice or bar of soap, we're very reasonable. While San Francisco voters spurned a half-a-percent sale ... More >>

Cigarette Tax Proposal Gets Smoked

When we last checked in nearly three weeks ago, supporters and opponents of Proposition 29, which would increase a cigarette tax by $1 per pack, were probably tempted to chain smoke away the nerves from too-close-to-call election results. Now you can dump those ash trays, because the ballot initia ... More >>

Prop. 29 Losing Voter Support, Though Cigarette Tax Remains Popular

What can you get for $42 million? A penthouse apartment at the top of the St. Regis. Six years of Adonal Foyle. Roy Lichtenstein's peephole painting. Also, a 14 percent drop in support for Proposition 29, which would raise the cigarette tax and fund cancer research. In March, a poll by the Publi ... More >>

Soup to Nuts: Crazy Food Taxes Penalize the Poor, Benefit the Rich

Amazon Tax Bill Is Gaining Favor Among S.F. Businesses

Read the full story on your Kindle​Business leaders in San Francisco are supporting the same legislation that's made economic behemoths such as Amazon.com threaten to leave California. AB155, also known as the Amazon tax bill, passed the Assembly this week and now awaits the state Senate's vote. ... More >>

Tax Delinquent List Posted -- 'Target' Owes What?

​The state of California has, once again, updated its list of California's biggest sales tax delinquents -- and the No. 1 target is, well, Target. But not the Target you're thinking of. The big-box retailer with the checkered record regarding gay rights that has San Franciscans enraged has, ostens ... More >>

Did You Get Stuck With Illegal Taxes When You Bought Your Unabomber Postage Stamps?

The Smoking GunA few years ago, The Smoking Gun discovered that you could take advantage of custom stamp services and mail your letters affixed with postage depicting the young Unabomber or tyrannical dictators. Now a class action suit in San Francisco district court ponders something more -- are yo ... More >>

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Common Cents

The Chronicle should stop the dubious "news stories" and openly rail against a sales tax hike that hurts its major advertisers -- and slaughters the poor

The Grid