Tax Foundation Argues to California Court of Appeals: Charging Taxpayers for Tax Collection Is a Tax
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the California Court of Appeal yesterday, the Tax Foundation argued that a processing “fee,” charged by the City of San Diego for collection of a tax on landlords who rent their property, should be seen as a tax, and therefore should be ruled unconstitutional because the tax was imposed without voter approval.
In arguing against a lower court’s decision in Weisblat v. City of San Diego, Tax Foundation Tax Counsel Joseph Henchman reviews the standards for defining taxes and fees in California and throughout the country, and concludes that the charge is a tax because its purpose is to raise revenue for a quintessential government activity: tax collection.
Read the press release, the full amicus brief, or the Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact summarizing the brief.
More on tax law from the Tax Foundation’s Center for Legal Reform.
Was this page helpful to you?
Thank You!
The Tax Foundation works hard to provide insightful tax policy analysis. Our work depends on support from members of the public like you. Would you consider contributing to our work?
Contribute to the Tax FoundationLet us know how we can better serve you!
We work hard to make our analysis as useful as possible. Would you consider telling us more about how we can do better?
Give Us Feedback