Today's Law As Amended


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AB-2956 Income taxes: credits: agricultural employees: overtime pay.(2019-2020)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Agricultural Overtime Premium Tax Credits Act of 2020.

SEC. 2.

 Section 17053.100 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

17053.100.
 (a) For each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2023, there shall be allowed to a taxpayer as a credit against the “net tax,” as defined in Section 17039, an amount equal to the overtime wage premium paid or incurred by the taxpayer in the taxable year to an agricultural employee.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Agricultural employee” means a person employed in an agricultural occupation, as that term is defined in Section 859 of the Labor Code.
(2) (A) “Overtime wage premium” means the portion of the amount paid to an employee for overtime hours determined by multiplying the number of overtime hours by the difference in the employee’s regular rate of pay and the rate required to be paid to the employee for those overtime hours pursuant to Section 860 of the Labor Code or by subdivision (a) of Section 862 of the Labor Code.
(B) “Overtime hours” means the amount of hours an employee worked in excess of the daily or weekly limits specified in Section 860 of the Labor Code or subdivision (a) of Section 862 of the Labor Code for which the employee is required to be compensated at rates specified by those provisions.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until December 1, 2023, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 Section 23625 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

23625.
 (a) For each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2023, there shall be allowed to a taxpayer as a credit against the “tax,” as defined in Section 23036, an amount equal to the overtime wage premium paid or incurred by the taxpayer in the taxable year to an agricultural employee.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Agricultural employee” means a person employed in an agricultural occupation, as that term is defined in Section 859 of the Labor Code.
(2) (A) “Overtime wage premium” means the portion of the amount paid to an employee for overtime hours determined by multiplying the number of overtime hours by the difference in the employee’s regular rate of pay and the rate required to be paid to the employee for those overtime hours pursuant to Section 860 of the Labor Code or by subdivision (a) of Section 862 of the Labor Code.
(B) “Overtime hours” means the amount of hours an employee worked in excess of the daily or weekly limits specified in Section 860 of the Labor Code or subdivision (a) of Section 862 of the Labor Code for which the employee is required to be compensated at rates specified by those provisions.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until December 1, 2023, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 4.
 (a) For the purposes of complying with Section 41 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(1) California remains the largest overall producer of agricultural goods by value in the country, and is one of the largest agricultural producing regions in the world. Unfortunately, the farmworkers that make much of the production possible face a number of disadvantages compared to California’s population as a whole.
(2) Agricultural employers contributed more than $263 billion to the state economy through direct sales and employed 1.2 million people, benefiting both rural and urban regions, but these employers are under extreme pressure from new economic and environmental challenges.
(3) Farming and ranching are based on managing biological systems, which are dependent on weather. As such, they often demand harvesting, pruning, and planting be conducted within sometimes very tight and unpredictable windows. In order to meet these demands, at times this necessitates that the work gets done in excess of 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.
(4) Currently, competition in the marketplace from other states and countries that do not yet provide overtime compensation for farm employees creates a competitive disadvantage to California’s farmers and ranchers who must utilize employees during these overtime periods.
(5) Therefore, the purpose of the Agricultural Overtime Premium Tax Credits Act of 2020 is to ensure fair wages and hours for farmworkers by providing tax credits to California’s agricultural employers of farmworkers.
(6) The performance indicator for the Legislature to use when measuring whether the credits meet the goal, purpose, or objective specified in paragraph (1) is how many taxpayers are allowed the credits.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 19542 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the Franchise Tax Board shall annually publish anonymized data on the Agricultural Overtime Premium Tax Credits Act of 2020 through the 2024 calendar year.
SEC. 5.
 This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.