Voters in Fresno and Tulare counties will consider local sales tax measures Nov. 3 as California prepares to extend sales taxes to digital products, including electronically delivered software and software subscriptions.
The California Taxpayers Association reports 61 proposed local sales tax increases statewide. Its election tracker lists proposals in Fowler, Tulare and Dinuba, but no sales tax increases in Kings or Madera counties.
Fowler’s Measure T would add a half-cent tax for general city services, generating an estimated $300,000 annually, according to the city attorney’s analysis.
In Tulare, Measure A would raise the sales tax rate from 8.25% to 9.25%, generating approximately $16 million annually. Dinuba’s Measure S proposes a three-quarter-cent tax expected to generate $3.4 million annually. Both would support general city services, including public safety and road maintenance.
Fresno’s measures are intended to replace an expiring tax.
Countywide Measure S would succeed Measure C’s half-cent transportation tax, which expires June 30, 2027. The city’s Measure D proposes a half-cent general tax beginning July 1, 2027. The city measure expires in either 10 years, or if a countywide measure passes. Its official analysis says Fresno’s overall rate would remain 8.35%.
Coalinga’s Measure J would renew an existing 1% tax, according to CalTax.
Meanwhile, none of the four counties appears on the state’s Oct. 1 rate-increase notice. Those changes affect Los Angeles County and the cities of Perris and Red Bluff.
The broader change arrives Jan. 1, 2027, when SB 122 makes digital products generally taxable, according to state tax officials. That expansion will affect Valley purchasers regardless of November’s local election results. Applicable local rates will help determine the tax charged.
The nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst’s Office said the change would broaden a sales tax system that currently treats similar software purchases differently depending on how they are delivered. California taxes prewritten software sold on tangible media, but not downloaded software or software accessed remotely, such as software-as-a-service subscriptions. Custom software would remain exempt under the change.
The LAO said a substantial share of the newly taxed software would likely be purchased by businesses, raising concerns about higher business costs that could ultimately be passed on to consumers. The office also noted that the change focuses on software while leaving other digital products outside the sales tax base. Revenue estimates are uncertain, but the administration projected the change would generate $450 million for the state General Fund and $560 million in local sales tax revenue during the first half-year of implementation.
