California Seeks to Reverse Southwest’s $10.8 Million Refund Win

Southwest Jet Fuel Co. isn’t entitled to an approximately $10.8 million sales and use tax refund because a trial court misapplied a voter approval initiative that restricts counties’ taxing powers, California’s tax agency told an appeals court.

A 1955 state law authorizing a uniform sales tax rate across California counties dictates that adjustments to the statute are automatically incorporated into local ordinances, the state told the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District. Proposition 62, which bars counties from imposing new taxes without voter approval, doesn’t apply to tax law amendments the state enacts, the tax agency’s Wednesday brief said. ...