The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) administers and collects state personal income tax and corporate franchise and income tax of California. It is part of the California Government Operations Agency.

The board is composed of the California State Controller, the director of the California Department of Finance, and the chair of the California State Board of Equalization. The chief administrative official is the executive officer of the Franchise Tax Board.

History In 1879, California adopted its state constitution which among many other programs created the State Board of Equalization and the State Controller, which administered all tax programs.Publication: Franchise Tax Board at a Glance, page 2

In 1929, the state legislature created the office of the Franchise Tax Commissioner to administer California's Bank and Corporation Franchise Tax Act.

In 1950, California abolished the office of the Franchise Tax Commissioner and created the Franchise Tax Board as it exists today.

The Executive Officers of the Franchise Tax Board have been: John J. Campbell (1950–1963) Martin Huff (1963–1979) Gerald H. Goldberg (1980–2005) Selvi Stanislaus (2006–present), the first woman to hold the post

Members The three members of the Franchise Tax Board are the California State Controller, the Chair of the California State Board of Equalization, and the Director of the California Department of Finance. The State Controller and the Chair of the Board of Equalization are elected officials, while the Director of the Department of Finance is appointed by the Governor of California. The State Controller is elected to a four-year term, and the Director of the Department of Finance serves at the pleasure of the Governor, who is elected to a four-year term. The four members of the State Board of Equalization typically take a one-year turn acting as Chair during their four-year elected term.

Year Controller Chair Director of Finance 1950 Thomas Kuchel (R) George R. Reilly James S. DeanJames S. Dean resigned, effective October 30, 1953. He was replaced by the appointment of John M. Pierce, effective November 1, 1953. 1951 James H. Quinn 1952 Jerrold L. Seawell 1953 Robert C. Kirkwood (R)Thomas H. Kuchel resigned, effective January 2, 1953, after his election as a US Senator. He was replaced by the appointment of Robert C. Kirkwood, effective January 6, 1953. William G. Bonelli 1954 George R. Reilly John M. PierceJohn M. Pierce resigned, effective July 14, 1958. He was replaced by the appointment of T.H. Mugford, effective July 15, 1958. 1955 James H. Quinn 1956 Paul R. Leake 1957 Robert E. McDavid 1958 George R. Reilly John M. Peirce T.H. Mugford 1959 Alan Cranston (D) Paul R. Leake Bert W. LevittBert W. Levitt resigned, effective July 31, 1959. He was replaced by the appointment of John E. Carr, effective August 1, 1959. 1960 John W. Lynch John E. CarrJohn E. Carr resigned, effective June 30, 1961. He was replaced by the appointment of Hale Champion, effective July 1, 1961. 1961 Hale Champion 1962 George R. Reilly 1963 John W. Lynch 1964 Paul R. Leake 1965 John W. Lynch 1966 George R. Reilly 1967 Houston I. Flournoy (R) Paul R. Leake Gordon P. SmithGordon P. Smith resigned, effective February 29, 1968. He was replaced by the appointment of Caspar W. Weinberger, effective March 1, 1968. 1968 Richard Nevins Caspar W. Weinberger 1969 John W. Lynch 1970 George R. Reilly Verne Orr 1971 Richard Nevins 1972 John W. Lynch 1973 William M. Bennett 1974 1975 Ken Cory (D) John W. Lynch Roy M. BellRoy M. Bell resigned, effective November 30, 1978. He was replaced by the appointment of Richard T. Silberman, effective December 1, 1978. 1976 William M. Bennett 1977 1978 George R. Reilly 1979 William M. Bennett Richard SilbermanRichard T. Silberman resigned, effective August 20, 1979. He was replaced by the appointment of Mary Ann Graves, effective August 21, 1979. 1980 Richard Nevins Mary Ann Graves 1981 Ernest J. Dronenburg, Jr. 1982 William M. Bennett 1983 Michael Franchetti 1984 Richard Nevins Jesse Huff 1985 Ernest J. Dronenburg, Jr. 1986 Richard Nevins 1987 Gray Davis (D) Conway H. Collis 1988 Ernest J. Dronenburg, Jr. 1989 Paul B. Carpenter 1990 Conway Collis 1991 Brad Sherman Thomas W. Hayes 1992 1993 1994 Russell GouldRussell Gould resigned, effective February 23, 1996. He was replaced by the appointment of Craig L. Brown, effective March 4, 1996. 1995 Kathleen Connell (D) 1996 Johan Klehs Craig L. Brown 1997 Ernest Dronenburg, Jr. 1998 Dean Andal 1999 Johann Klehs B. Timothy Gage 2000 Dean Andal 2001 Claude Parrish 2002 John Chiang 2003 Steve Westly (D) Carole Migden Steve PeaceGovernor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Donna Arduin as director of finance on his first day in office after the 2003 recall election to replace Steve Peace, who was finance director under Governor Gray Davis. Donna ArduinDonna Arduin resigned, effective October 18, 2004, to accept an appointment to the board of directors of a private firm and was replaced by the appointment of Tom Campbell, effective December 1, 2004.2004 2005 John ChiangTom CampbellTom Campbell resigned, effective November 10, 2005, to return to his post as dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and was replaced by the appointment of Michael C. Genest, effective December 1, 2005. 2006 Michael C. GenestMichael C. Genest resigned effective December 14, 2009 and was replaced by the appointment of Ana J. Matosantos, effective December 31, 2009. 2007 John Chiang (D) Betty Yee 2008 Judy Chu 2009 Betty Yee 2010Ana J. MatosantosAna J. Matosantos resigned, effective December 7, 2010, to run Governor-elect Jerry Brown's transition team. Cythina Bryant served as interim director of finance from December 7, 2010, to January 3, 2011, when Matosantos returned as director after Brown was sworn in as governor.Cynthia Bryant 2011 Jerome Horton Ana J. MatosantosAna J. Matosantos resigned, effective September 13, 2013. She was replaced by the appointment of Michael Cohen, effective September 14, 2013. 2012 2013 2014 Michael CohenMichael Cohen resigned, effective August 20, 2018. He was replaced by the appointment of Keely Bosler, effective August 21, 2018. 2015 Betty Yee (D) 2016 Fiona Ma 2017 Diane Harkey 2018 George Runner 2019 Malia Cohen Keely BoslerKeely Bosler resigned, effective July 31, 2022. She was replaced by the appointment of Joe Stephenshaw, effective August 1, 2022. 2020 Tony Vazquez 2021 2022 Malia Cohen 2023 Malia Cohen (D) Tony Vazquez Joe Stephenshaw2024 Sally Lieber

Notes

Tax programs

Personal income tax The FTB collects personal state income taxes. The FTB collects income taxes from California residents on their income from all sources.Publication: Franchise Tax Board at a Glance, page 4 Meanwhile, non-residents are taxed on their California-based income. In recent years, the FTB collects more than $50 billion each year in personal income taxes.State Controller's Office: State Finances 101: State Taxes

Corporate income tax The FTB levies a franchise tax on businesses for doing business in California. The FTB's name reflects the fact that it was originally created to collect this tax. The agency's name was left unchanged even after the state created a personal income tax and added it to the FTB's responsibilities.

The corporate tax is imposed on businesses that do business in California and derive income from within California. Over the past decade, the FTB has collected an average of $9.5 billion per year in corporate income taxes.

In addition to taxing entities formed or doing business in California, the FTB previously asserted franchise tax jurisdiction over members or partners of passthrough entities formed or doing business in California. In 2010, the FTB asserted that owning as little as 0.2% of a California-based LLC constituted doing business in California and requiring the payment of franchise tax. This position was overruled by the Office of Tax Appeals and the California Court of Appeal in 2017 and 2018.

Non-tax programs The FTB also collects delinquent vehicle registration debt collections on behalf of the California Department of Motor Vehicles and delinquent court ordered debt. The FTB also does financial audits of certain candidates for state office, ballot proposition committees, and lobbyists, according to a random selection process by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

See also State income tax State tax levels Taxation in the United States

References

External links California Franchise Tax Board website Franchise Tax Board in the California Code of Regulations Revenue and Tax Code