On March 25, California Senate Bill 378 was “significantly changed,” according to the California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA).
The bill originally dealt with amendments to the “business and professions code” within the state, specifically addressing licensing logistics for barbers and cosmetologists.
The late-March amendments completely removed all prior references to the licensing of hair care professionals, and instead shifted the focus to the reinstatement of an estate tax within the state.
After noting that the state had previously prohibited the establishment of an estate tax outside of specific federal allowances, the bill described its purpose being to “propose to the voters a repeal of the above initiative measure prohibiting the imposition of a tax on or by reason of any transfer occurring by reason of death and would propose the imposition of estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, in modified conformity with federal law, on and after Jan. 1, 2021.”
According to the CCA, the bill, “if passed, would place an initiative on the 2020 ballot asking voters to restore a California estate tax.
Specifically, the initiative proposes an exemption of $3.5 million that cannot be adjusted for inflation with a 40 percent rate paid on estates that exceed the value of the exemption.”
CCA also added that the bill, if passed, “would have detrimental effects on the transition of family farms in California from one generation to the next.”
