Home-Based Business Bill Dies in Committee

A state bill that would have exempted home-based writers, musicians and artists from paying city business taxes was set aside for more study, effectively killing it this legislative year. But Assembly Bill 2065 could be reintroduced as early as December, said an aide to Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar), who introduced the measure for the Writers Guild. The guild filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles last year after the city legalized home-based businesses and required them to pay city business taxes. The Assembly passed the bill, but it stalled in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. Committee member John Burton (D-San Francisco) requested further study, saying he was concerned that only certain businesses were allowed exemptions and that the measure preempted local government taxing authority. But others said the bill became entangled in a squabble over a related measure, AB 1076, that would allow the Franchise Tax Board to give cities information about individuals running home-based businesses.