4 Cities to Benefit From New State Law : Legislation: Cathie Wright’s measure mandates return of 1% of the purchase price on auto lease to jurisdiction where the transaction occurs.

Four of Ventura County’s largest cities stand to benefit from a new state law that will directly funnel sales tax revenue from auto leases to city treasuries, officials said Thursday.

The new law, authored by state Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), mandates that 1% of the purchase price of auto leases be returned to the city where the lease transaction occurred, said John Theiss, an aide to Wright.

That could have significant financial benefits for Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Ventura and Oxnard--all of which have large auto malls or dealerships, he said.

Currently, the law requires that tax revenue from auto leases be distributed to the county where the leaseholder resides, Theiss said.

The county, in turn, takes that pot of money and distributes it to all cities in its jurisdiction on a set formula, whether or not they have auto malls or dealerships, he said.

Wright’s law, which takes effect Jan. 1, will make sure that every tax dollar generated by leases will be returned to the city where the lease was signed, said Lee Angela Reid, Wright’s legislative analyst.

Cities with large auto lease markets stand to benefit the most because they will no longer lose tax dollars to other cities, Reid said.

However, it is difficult to assess the precise economic impact because tax revenues from leases have varied in the past, she said.

Thousand Oaks City Manager Grant Brimhall estimates that it could mean anywhere from $400,000 to $1 million in added city funds over the next few years.

“We do know that a substantially increasing percentage of autos are not purchased, they are leased,” Brimhall said. “So it could have a far more significant impact in the future than it’s had in the past.”

Auto dealers report that lease sales make up 30% of all new-car transactions, Reid said.

“In the commercials you see on TV now, they talk about leases just as much as sales,” she said, “especially on high-end cars, like Mercedes-Benz.”

Steve Rubinstein, president of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, said auto leases account for as much as 40% of car sales in upscale Thousand Oaks. His group lobbied hard for passage of the bill, calling business groups and auto dealerships up and down the state and asking them to pressure local legislators, he said.

“We’re very proud that we will be bringing this money back to the city of Thousand Oaks and other cities in the state,” he said. “It’s found money.”

Jeff Weber, co-owner of an Oxnard auto dealership, said he applauds Wright for getting the bill passed. “I’m surprised they haven’t barked about it earlier,” he said. “The cities have been missing the whole ball of wax with the amount of leasing going on.”

Up to 90% of the cars that leave Weber’s Infiniti lot have been leased, rather than sold, he said. So have half the Lincoln-Mercurys and about a third of Nissans and Mazdas. The new trend is to lease used cars, he added.

The bill, SB 602, was introduced in December and went through the legislative process with little opposition, Theiss said. The only losers are cities that have few auto dealers but a relatively high percentage of residents who lease cars, he said.

Brimhall said he and Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell have tried to get the tax rule changed working with administrators at the State Board of Equalization, the agency responsible for doling out sales tax revenues.

But their efforts went nowhere, Brimhall said. That’s when they approached Wright to introduce legislation supporting the change, he said.

Sedell could not be reached for comment. But Reid estimated that Simi Valley will gain up to $250,000 in the first full year of implementation.

Officials with the cities of Oxnard and Ventura were not available for comment.