Taxation

Ca. Tax Lawyer VOLUME 34, 2025 ANNUAL ISSUE

HIGH LIABILITY

COMPARING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY REGULATIONS FOR UNPAID CANNABIS TAX AND UNPAID SALES AND USE TAX

Written by the SALT Committee

INTRODUCTION

On June 30, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill No. 195.1 The bill added new sections to the California Revenue and Taxation Code, including § 34015.2, which imposes personal liability for unpaid cannabis tax. Any California tax practitioner who reads § 34015.2 may feel déjà vu. The wording of the statute largely mirrors another personal liability law which has been around for decades, namely Revenue and Taxation Code § 6829. Both statutes allow the State of California to collect the unpaid tax a business still owes the State after it terminates. The question becomes: from whom can the state collect this unpaid tax?

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