A local business group is welcoming a legal challenge to a park tax measure approved by voters in November.
Measure A, which passed with 73 percent support, will levy a tax of 1.5 cents a square foot of developed property, raising about $94 million a year to fund the maintenance of Los Angeles County parks, such as Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge.
But West Covina resident and Temple City tax preparer Jimmie Dondlinger filed a lawsuit last week in state Superior Court in Los Angeles against the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District to block implementation of the tax.
Dondlinger alleges that the measure’s formula tying the tax to the square footage of developed property violates state law requiring the tax to be applied uniformly to all taxpayers. Specifically, he claims that Measure A exempts most parking lots and other unimproved parcels, since they do not have developed structures.
Los Angeles County Business Federation, or BizFed, confirmed last week that it also opposes the property tax increase formula, since it requires major commercial property owners to pay very high taxes.
“BizFed, like many concerned entities, opposed Measure A on the ballot as a deeply flawed funding measure to fix our parks,” Tracy Hernandez, BizFed’s chief executive, said in an email.
More New Laws
A few more new laws for California employers taking effect this year:
• Electronic filing of employment tax returns: AB 1245, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015, requires employers with more than 10 employees to electronically submit employment tax returns, wage reports, and payroll tax deposits, effective this month. Smaller employers must file the returns electronically as of Jan. 1 of next year. According to the state Employment Development Department, more than 40 percent of employers already file their returns electronically. To help the remaining employers, the department has tutorials and help pages on its website, edd.ca.gov.
• Free beer or wine with your hair styling appointment: As of Jan. 1, barber shops and beauty salons can serve beer and wine to patrons, thanks to passage last year of AB 1322. But the barber shops and salons cannot charge for the beer and wine and must serve it prior to 10 p.m.
• All-gender bathrooms: Beginning March 1, AB 1732 enacts a requirement that all single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or government agency must be identified as “all-gender” toilet facilities.
Mileage Reimbursements Drop
The IRS last month issued its 2017 optional standard mileage reimbursement rates.
Starting this month, the reimbursement rate for business miles driven dropped to 53.5 cents a mile, down a half-cent from last year’s rate. The rate is calculated based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating a vehicle. The biggest factor in the drop was a decline in fuel prices.
The IRS also lowered the optional mileage reimbursement rate for medical or moving purposes by 2 cents to 17 cents a mile. The rate for charitable organizations remained steady at 14 cents a mile.
Employers are required under California law to fully reimburse employees expenses incurred, including job-related driving (though not including commutes to and from home). While the IRS reimbursement rates are optional, they are accepted by the state and most employers use them.
New Leader at Unruh Institute
Starting Jan. 9, USC political science professor Robert Shrum will take the helm at USC’s Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, succeeding Dan Schnur, who is setting up another institute at USC.
Shrum, 73, is an expert in presidential elections as well as political advertising and policy. He served as a senior adviser for the presidential campaigns of Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.
“I earned a living in politics doing what I loved,” Shrum said in a press release. “Now I’m lucky again to continue doing something I love, interacting with students and mentoring them. I’m looking forward to placing them not only in Los Angeles and Sacramento, but in Washington, D.C., as well.”
Schnur, 53, who directed the Unruh Institute since 2008, will be working with the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences dean’s office this spring on the development of ideas for an innovative new center, according to a press release from the university.
The Unruh Institute was founded in 1978; its core mission is to motivate students to become active in the world of politics and encourage public officials to participate in the daily life of USC. As part of USC Dornsife, the institute oversees the USC Dornsife-Los Angeles Times political poll, which early last year famously predicted that Donald Trump would narrowly win the presidential election.
Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 227.
