In 1929, the state legislature created the office of the Franchise Tax Commissioner to administer California's Bank and Corporation Franchise Tax Act.[1]
In 1950, California abolished the office of the Franchise Tax Commissioner and created the Franchise Tax Board as it exists today.[1]
The Executive Officers of the Franchise Tax Board have been:
John J. Campbell (1950–1963)
Martin Huff (1963–1979)
Gerald H. Goldberg (1980–2005)
Selvi Stanislaus (2006–present), the first woman to hold the post
Members
The three members of the Franchise Tax Board are the California State Controller, the Chair of the California State Board of Equalization, and the Director of the California Department of Finance. The State Controller and the Chair of the Board of Equalization are elected officials, while the Director of the Department of Finance is appointed by the Governor of California. The State Controller is elected to a four-year term, and the Director of the Department of Finance serves at the pleasure of the Governor, who is elected to a four-year term. The four members of the State Board of Equalization typically take a one-year turn acting as Chair during their four-year elected term.
^James S. Dean resigned, effective October 30, 1953. He was replaced by the appointment of John M. Pierce, effective November 1, 1953.
^Thomas H. Kuchel resigned, effective January 2, 1953, after his election as a US Senator. He was replaced by the appointment of Robert C. Kirkwood, effective January 6, 1953.
^John M. Pierce resigned, effective July 14, 1958. He was replaced by the appointment of T.H. Mugford, effective July 15, 1958.
^Bert W. Levitt resigned, effective July 31, 1959. He was replaced by the appointment of John E. Carr, effective August 1, 1959.
^John E. Carr resigned, effective June 30, 1961. He was replaced by the appointment of Hale Champion, effective July 1, 1961.
^Gordon P. Smith resigned, effective February 29, 1968. He was replaced by the appointment of Caspar W. Weinberger, effective March 1, 1968.
^Roy M. Bell resigned, effective November 30, 1978. He was replaced by the appointment of Richard T. Silberman, effective December 1, 1978.
^Richard T. Silberman resigned, effective August 20, 1979. He was replaced by the appointment of Mary Ann Graves, effective August 21, 1979.
^Russell Gould resigned, effective February 23, 1996. He was replaced by the appointment of Craig L. Brown, effective March 4, 1996.
^Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Donna Arduin as director of finance on his first day in office after the 2003 recall election to replace Steve Peace, who was finance director under Governor Gray Davis.
^Donna Arduin resigned, effective October 18, 2004, to accept an appointment to the board of directors of a private firm and was replaced by the appointment of Tom Campbell, effective December 1, 2004.
^Tom Campbell resigned, effective November 10, 2005, to return to his post as dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and was replaced by the appointment of Michael C. Genest, effective December 1, 2005.
^Michael C. Genest resigned effective December 14, 2009 and was replaced by the appointment of Ana J. Matosantos, effective December 31, 2009.
^Ana J. Matosantos resigned, effective December 7, 2010, to run Governor-elect Jerry Brown's transition team. Cythina Bryant served as interim director of finance from December 7, 2010, to January 3, 2011, when Matosantos returned as director after Brown was sworn in as governor.
^Ana J. Matosantos resigned, effective September 13, 2013. She was replaced by the appointment of Michael Cohen, effective September 14, 2013.
^Michael Cohen resigned, effective August 20, 2018. He was replaced by the appointment of Keely Bosler, effective August 21, 2018.
^Keely Bosler resigned, effective July 31, 2022. She was replaced by the appointment of Joe Stephenshaw, effective August 1, 2022.
Tax programs
Personal income tax
The FTB collects personal state income taxes. The FTB collects income taxes from California residents on their income from all sources.[2] Meanwhile, non-residents are taxed on their California-based income.[2] In recent years, the FTB collects more than $50 billion each year in personal income taxes.[2][3]
Corporate income tax
The FTB levies a franchise tax on businesses for doing business in California.[2] The FTB's name reflects the fact that it was originally created to collect this tax. The agency's name was left unchanged even after the state created a personal income tax and added it to the FTB's responsibilities.
The corporate tax is imposed on businesses that do business in California and derive income from within California.[2] Over the past decade, the FTB has collected an average of $9.5 billion per year in corporate income taxes.[3]
