California Sales and Use Taxes Set to Increase by .25% on January 1, 2013

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Due to voter approval of Proposition 30, the statewide sales and use tax rate will increase one quarter of one percent (0.25%) on January 1, 2013. The higher tax rate will apply for four years – January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016.

This is the first sales and use tax rate change since July 1, 2011, when rates in most of Ventura County dropped from 8.25% to 7.25% (except Port Hueneme and Oxnard, where rates dropped from 8.75% to 7.75%). Oxnard and Port Hueneme both voted in a Transactions and Use Tax of .5% effective April 1. 2009 that is reflected in these rates.

Thus, effective January 1, 2013, sales and use tax rates in all of Ventura County, except for Port Hueneme and Oxnard, will increase to 7.5% (8% in Port Hueneme and Oxnard).

Our neighbors in the L.A. County portion of Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Malibu and Calabasas will pay 9% effective January 1, 2013, while most of our neighbors in Santa Barbara County will be paying 8% (except Santa Maria, which will be at 8.25% because they added a .25% Transactions and Use Tax in that city effective October 1st of this year).

The highest sales and use tax rates in the state will continue to be in Pico Rivera and South Gate, where rates will be to 10% effective January 1st. In November 2012, La Mirada voters approved a 1% temporary sales tax rate increase that will expire in five years. As a result, La Mirada joins the 10% sales and use tax club effective April 1, 2013.

There are a number of cities currently at a 9.5% effective rate, include Avalon, Santa Monica. El Monte, Inglewood and South El Monte. Effective April 1, 2013, the City of Commerce and Culver City join this list.

This is taxing just writing about this stuff!

For updates, visit the California Board of Equalization website at www.boe.ca.gov.

Here is a history of sales and use tax rates (excluding district taxes) in California going back to August 1, 1933.

  • 8/1/33:  2.5%
  • 7/1/35:  3%
  • 7/1/43:  2.5%
  • 7/1/49:  3%
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Applying for a Job is a Lot Different Than Buying a Lottery Ticket

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Originally posted in February 2011

Recently I posted a job in craigslist for an Office Assistant position. The posting listed specific job duties and requirements, from administrative to accounting to human resources, as well as other desired qualities.

We were overwhelmed with the response. Over 120 applicants within the first 24 hours and 200 in less than a week. Nearly 300 in total. A very eye opening reminder that there are a lot of people in need of jobs out there.

Let me first say that there were numerous very capable, outstanding people that applied for the job. I was very impressed by quite a number of resumes and cover letters and we are still contemplating the best candidate for a job offer.

But at the same time I was SHOCKED at how many applicants didn't treat the process seriously. Many appeared to be applying for the job without reviewing the job qualifications and editing the resume.

APPLYING FOR A JOB IS DIFFERENT THAN BUYING A LOTTERY TICKET!! Purchasing a lottery ticket is easy. Buy a ticket and hope for the best. It sure felt like a lot of people treated the job-hunting process in an equally nonchalant way!

Getting your dream job is hard work. It takes more than just submitting your resume. You must review the job requirements and make sure your resume highlights your relevant work experience. Where your experience is lacking, you need to sell yourself in the cover letter and point out what you bring to the table.

Here are some observations and advice based on some of the resumes I received.

Typos: One important requirement noted in the job posting was solid writing skills. As kind of a test I indicated that candidates should pay close to attention to proofing their submissions for typos. I literally said “Please no typos or grammatical errors in your submission,” yet the majority of applicants had typos. Now I can understand  one or two blatant typos as, heck, I’m often guilty of that myself. But when applying for a job, you’ve got to go the extra mile.  Use a Word or even Gmail editor and correct any typos, but better yet, re-read the resume several times. Or have someone else check it.

Example: "I am certain that my senior level executive/administrative assistant skills and experience when linked with thee vision of your company will serve to crea

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Top Hiring Employers In and Around Ventura County as 2013 Approaches

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As we wind down another year, now is a great time to start looking for a job, or perhaps a new job. This popular list of over 275 employers in Ventura County and surrounding areas provides local job seekers with some great resources for discovering local opportunities.

Let's take a closer look at that list and highlight some of the companies that have the largest number of posted job openings as we enter 2013.

Conejo Valley (Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas) Top Hiring Employers

  • Bank of America has dozens and dozens of jobs posted in various local locations, including Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Calabasas and surrounding areas. careers.bankofamerica.com/jobsearch.aspx
  • Medical products and bioscience powerhouse Baxter International has nearly 40 posted positions at its Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks locations and another 60 jobs in Los Angeles.  www.baxter.com
  • Located in the heart of Thousand Oaks, California Lutheran University currently is looking to fill nearly 30 faculty, administrative and support positions available. www.callutheran.edu/hr
  • Westlake Village based Guitar Center has several dozen listed local positions. www.guitarcenter.com
  • Network and application testing provider, Calabasas based Ixia, has nearly 20 local job opportunities posted. www.ixiacom.com
  • Los Robles Medical Center in Thousand Oaks currently has 3
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There Are 35 Post-Season NCAA Football Bowl Games: Here is the 2012-13 Lineup

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Here in Southern California we are home to the very first college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1902. The Rose Bowl was still the only major college football bowl in 1930, but that quickly changed. By 1940, there were 5 bowls, the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl. I loved the simplicity of the names back then, before the corporate sponsorships took over.

The number of bowls grew to 8 in 1950, 11 in 1970, 15 in 1980, 19 in 1990, 25 in 2000 and today, 2012, we have 35 of them. And amazingly, only a few of the games overlap, so even without recording the games, avid football fans could almost watch every single one of these 35 bowls live on TV.

Here is the current college football bowl schedule for 2012-2013, including game times in PST (be sure to check channel listings for changes/errors):

Gildan New Mexico Bowl 12/15/12 10am (Nevada vs Arizona)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl 12/15/12 1:30pm (Toledo vs Utah State)

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl 12/20/12 5pm (BYU vs San Diego State)

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg 12/21/12 4:30pm (Ball State vs Central Florida)

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 12/22/12 9am (East Carolina vs Louisiana-Lafayette)

Maaco Bowl Las Vegas 12/22/12 12:30pm (Boise St vs Washington)

Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl 12/24/12 5pm (Southern Methodist vs Fresno State)

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl 12/26/12 4:30pm (Western Kentucky vs Central Michigan)

Military Bowl pres. by Northrop Grumman 12/27/12 Noon (San Jose St vs Bowling Green)

Belk Bowl 12/27/12 3:30pm (Duke vs Cincinnati)

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl 12/27/12 6:45pm (Baylor vs UCLA)

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl 12/28/12 11am (Ohio vs Louisiana-Monroe)

Russell Athletic Bowl 12/28/12 2:30pm (Virginia Tech vs Rutgers)

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas 12/28/12 6pm (Minnesota vs Texas Tech)

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl 12/29/12 8:45am (Rice vs Air Force)

New Era Pinstripe Bowl 12/29/12 12:15pm (Syracuse vs West Virginia)

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl 12/29/12 1pm (Arizona State vs Navy

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Payroll Taxes For U.S. Employees Set to Increase Beginning January 1, 2013

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The last few years, we have enjoyed (for lack of a better word) a 2 percentage point reduction in our 6.2% Social Security (FICA) tax rate, to 4.2% of wages earned during 2011, temporarily extended through 2012 by the aptly named Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011.

Unless the tax rate is extended again, in 2013 we will once again be paying into Social Security at the rate of 6.2%. That means $1,000 less to spend next year if you make, say, $50,000 per year.

Social Security is also referred to as Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Social Security has a nicer ring to it I suppose.

The 6.2% OASDI withholding rate has been in place since 1990. The statutory OASDI rate started out at 1% on employee wages from 1937 to 1949 and increased about 20 times through the years until it reached its current 6.2%.

Though the Social Security tax rate itself hasn't increased over the last 22 years, actual taxes paid have indeed grown as the annual maximum wage base has increased.

In 2013, the FICA wage base increases from $110,100 to $113,700. Th

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Banana Boat UltraMist Sunscreens Recalled Due to Risk of Product Igniting on Skin

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Energizer Holdings, Inc., the makers of products like Schick razors, Playtex feminine products, Wet Ones wipes, Hawaiian Tropic suncare products and, of course, batteries, recently announced a voluntary nationwide market withdrawal nearly two dozen of its continuous spray Banana Boat sun care products. CLICK HERE for a list of the affected products.

The product is being removed because of a concern that the spray valve on the products dispenses too much of the product, resulting in its taking longer to dry on the skin than typical. As a result, if the user comes into contact with a flame or spark before the product is completely dry, the product has the potential to ignite.

Heck, it never even occurred to me that this could happen. Good thing I don't smoke! Energizer indicates that consumers should avoid sources of ignition and smoking when using these products.

Five people weren't so lucky. Energizer received reports of five people suffering burns related to the use of the Banana Boat SPORT Ultramist SPF 30 and 50 products.

Banana Boat has notified retailers to stop selling the product and anticipates it will be offering new continuous spray products soon. The products were distributed to retailers from January 2010 to September 2012.

Consumers are advised not to use the products. Any questions can be directed to Consumer Affairs at 800-SAFESUN (800-723-3786) Monday through Friday, 8am to 7pm Eastern time or by emailing them at SUNCARE@customerfollowup.info.

Sunscreens seem to be in the news a lot these days! Coppertone recently agreed to stop calling its sunscreens "waterproof" and "sweatproof."

California Law AB 1536 Allows Hands-Free Texting in Cars Beginning January 1, 2013

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From the One More Reason to Stay Off the Roads Department. In July Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assemblyman Jeff Miller of Corona's measure AB 1536 he refers to as the "Freedom to Communicate" bill.

AB 1536 states:

Existing law prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication, except as specified. This bill would remove that prohibition if the person is using an electronic wireless communications device that is specifically designed and configured to allow voice-operated and hands-free operation to dictate, send, or listen to a text-based communication, and it is used in that manner while driving.

Miller's press release proudly states: "Today marks a huge victory for commuters as AB 1536 will now make it easier to utilize new technology to its full advantage, allowing Californians to communicate safely and responsibly while on the road," and ..."I (Miller) am thrilled to announce that Californians will now be able to communicate with friends, family and business partners while driving because it is currently against the law to operate text based functions while driving."

OK, so how does this work? Well remember, you still can't hold your phone or press any buttons on the phone. It does have to be hands free.

AB 1536 states "write, send, or read a text-based communication" means using an electronic wireless communications device to manually communicate with any person using a text-based communication, including, but not limited to, communications referred to as a text message, instant message, or electronic mail. I suppose "not limited to" would include things like Tweets, Facebook posts, etc.

We've had our "no texting while driving" law in place since January 1, 2009. It was only a matter of time that an exception be made. Allowing hands-free text messaging no doubt is much more important than things like unemployment and education in our state, right?

Ford has a voice-activated system called "Sync" in its cars that, among other things, allows you to listen to incoming texts on your phone and "respond with a set of up to 15 preset outgoing messages such as 'Can't talk right now' or 'Where are you?'"

Yay!! Can't wait to get in the car to text my friends and family!! Yippee!!