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The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is a public agency charged with tax administration and fee collection in the state of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The authorities of the Board fall into four broad areas:
sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in ...
and
use tax A use tax is a type of tax levied in the United States by numerous state governments. It is essentially the same as a sales tax but is applied not where a product or service was sold but where a merchant bought a product or service and then conv ...
es,
property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
es, special taxes, and acting as an appellate body for
franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
and
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
appeals (these taxes are collected by the
Franchise Tax Board 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 Board of Equalization
About BOE
/ref> The BOE is the only publicly elected tax commission in the United States.State Board of Equalization

/ref> It is made up of four directly elected members, each representing a
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
for four-year terms, along with the State Controller, who is elected on a statewide basis, serving as the fifth member. In June 2017, Governor
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
signed legislation stripping the Board of many of its powers, returning the agency to its original core responsibilities (originating in the State Constitution in 1879).


History

The State Board of Equalization was created in 1879 by the ratification of the second
Constitution of California The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original ...
. Its original mandate was to ensure that property
tax assessment Tax assessment, or assessment, is the job of determining the value, and sometimes determining the use, of property, usually to calculate a property tax. This is usually done by an office called the assessor or tax assessor. Governments need to ...
s were uniform and equal across all counties in the state. Prior to the creation of the state
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
, sales tax, and
fuel tax A fuel tax (also known as a petrol, gasoline or gas tax, or as a fuel duty) is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuels used to power agricultural v ...
es in the 1930s, California's state government was almost completely supported by
property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
es, which were and still are assessed at the county level by elected tax assessors. Assessors were tempted to boost their popularity with county voters by undervaluing voters' property (and thereby lowering their taxes). This presented the risk of counties with honest assessors paying more than their fair share of the burden of operating the state government, so the Board of Equalization was created to equalize the burden. The
California Franchise Tax Board 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 Californi ...
and the
Employment Development Department In California, the Employment Development Department (EDD) is a department of government that administers the Unemployment Insurance (UI), Disability Insurance (DI), and Paid Family Leave (PFL) programs. The department also provides employment ...
are separately also responsible for collecting taxes. Some have criticized this as inefficient. Efforts to reform the Board were made in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1990s, and 2000s. In 1994, Governor
Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...
vetoed a plan by the legislature to abolish the Franchise Tax Board and give its responsibilities to the Board of Equalization, explaining in his veto message that the state should have done the opposite. In 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released a 2,500-page report seeking to merge the Board with other agencies and then promoted a bill by Assemblywoman
Lois Wolk Lois Wolk (born May 12, 1946) is an American politician and former member of the California State Senate. A Democrat, she represented the 3rd Senate District, which encompasses the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta region and portions of th ...
to do just that. The effort failed. In 2008, the agency employed approximately 3,950 people throughout the state.State Board of Equalization, 2007-2008 Annual Report
Profile
"Governance" p. 3.
By 2017, the Board had expanded to collecting $60 billion a year. It collected sales and use taxes, hazardous waste fees, jet fuel taxes, marijuana taxes, and over 30 additional taxes. That year, the Board had 4,700 employees and a $617 million annual budget. Board members are paid a $137,000 annual salary and are each allowed to hire a 12-member staff. Each year, the Board spends at least $3 million on education events where elected members appear before their constituents. In March 2017, an audit by the
California Department of Finance The California Department of Finance is a state cabinet-level agency within the government of California. The Department of Finance is responsible for preparing, explaining, and administering the state's annual financial plan, which the Governor o ...
revealed missing funds and signs of
nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
, leading to calls for the governor to put the Board under a public trustee. In June 2017, the California Department of Justice began a criminal investigation into the members of the Board. On June 27, 2017, Governor
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
signed into law legislation stripping the Board of many of its powers. The legislation created two new departments controlled by the governor responsible for the Board’s statutory duties, the
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) is the public agency charged with assessing and collecting sales and use taxes, as well as a variety of excise fees and taxes, for the U.S. state of California. The department has sev ...
and the California Office of Tax Appeals. The Board still has its constitutional powers to review property tax assessments and insurer tax assessments, and its role in the collection of alcohol excise and pipeline taxes. It retained 400 employees, with the rest of its 4,800 workers being shifted to the new departments.


Equalization districts

For the purposes of tax administration, the BOE divides the state into four Equalization districts, each with its own elected board member. District boundaries are redrawn following the decennial census. The latest boundaries were drawn following the 2010 census and have been in effect since January 1, 2015.


First district

The First Equalization District is made up of the following counties:
Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...
, Amador,
Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...
, Calaveras, El Dorado,
Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
, Inyo,
Kern KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...
, Kings, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa,
Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...
, Modoc,
Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, Placer, Plumas,
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tulare, Tuolumne and Yuba; a portion of
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
including the cities of
Azusa Azusa may refer to: Relating to California From a Native American language, likely Tongva language, Tongva ''Asuksagna:'' *Azusa, California, a city in the United States *Azusa Pacific University, a Christian-based institution in Azusa, California ...
, Bradbury, Claremont, Duarte,
Irwindale Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702, w ...
, La Verne, Lancaster,
Palmdale Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...
, Pomona, San Dimas,
San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...
and
Santa Clarita Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17t ...
; and most of
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
, the portion not included in the Third and Fourth districts. From 2003 until 2015 most of this area was the Second District.


Second district

The Second Equalization District is made up of the following counties:
Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...
, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt,
Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
,
Marin Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...
, Mendocino,
Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...
, Napa, San Benito,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama,
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
and Yolo. From 2003 until 2015 most of this area was the First District.


Third district

The Third Equalization District is made up of
Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...
; most of
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
, the portion not included in the First District; and the city of Chino Hills in
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
. From 2003 until 2015 most of this area was the Fourth District.


Fourth district

The Fourth Equalization District is made up of the following counties:
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...
,
Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
,
Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
and
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
; and a portion of
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
including the cities of Colton, Fontana,
Grand Terrace Grand Terrace is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 12,040 at the 2010 census, up from 11,626 at the 2000 census. Grand Terrace is located between Highgrove and Colton, along the I-215 and Agua Man ...
,
Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
, Loma Linda, Redlands,
Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Ria ...
,
San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
, Twentynine Palms, Yucaipa and
Yucca Valley Yucca Valley is an incorporated town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 20,700 as of the 2010 census. Yucca Valley lies west of Twentynine Palms, north of Palm Springs, south of Barstow via State Route ...
. From 2003 until 2015 most of this area was the Third District.


Members of the Board of Equalization


Current members

File:Ted_Gaines.jpg,
Ted Gaines Edward Moore Gaines (born April 25, 1958) is an American politician and businessman serving as a member of the California Board of Equalization for the 1st district. He previously served as a California State Senator, representing the 1st Senate ...
(R)
(First District) File:SupervisorMaliaCohen.jpg, Malia Cohen (D)
(Second District) File:Antonio Vazquez.png, Tony Vazquez (D)
(Third District) File:Mike Schaefer.png, Mike Schaefer (D)
(Fourth District) File:California State Controller Betty Yee.jpg,
Betty Yee Betty T. Yee (born October 19, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as California State Controller since 2015. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2004 to 20 ...
(D)
(State Controller)
The terms of all four regular board members began on January 7, 2019, with
ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
board member, State Controller Betty Yee, having started her term in 2015.


List of members


Programs

After being reduced to its constitutional responsibilities in 2017, the Board retained almost none of its tax and fee responsibilities. The only property taxes it actively administers in its entirety are state-assessed properties and the Private Railroad Car Tax; the Board acts only in an appellate role in collecting the Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Insurance Tax, reviewing appeals of denials of claims for refund. However, the Board does continue to appraise and audit
public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
, railroad companies and properties owned by counties outside of their own jurisdictions, known as 'state-assessed properties', and hear appeals from its own staff appraisals.


Tax administration programs

* State-assessed properties * Private Railroad Car Tax


Regulatory programs

* County-assessed properties


Appellate-only programs

* Alcoholic Beverage Tax * Tax on Insurers


See also

*
Districts in California Districts in California geographically divide the U.S. state into overlapping regions for political and administrative purposes. History of California political districts From the founding of the state until 2008, the responsibility of redrawing ...


References


External links


Board of Equalization
{{authority control Board of Equalization Taxation in California US state tax agencies Government agencies established in 1879