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Statewide Sales and Use Tax Rate Decreases by 1% July 1!. 

The statewide sales and use tax rate will decrease from 8.25
percent to 7.25 percent on July 1, 2011 according to Board of
Equalization Chairman Jerome E. Horton. 

The 1 percent decrease applies, generally, to all taxable
transactions in California. In areas where voters have approved
additional sales taxes, the total tax rate applied to purchases
will be the statewide base tax rate of 7.25 percent, plus any
applicable local sales tax. Retailers should check the Board of
Equalization website, www.boe.ca.gov, for updates. 
Part of a 2008-09 budget agreement, Assembly Bill x3 3
temporarily increased the General Fund portion of the sales and
use tax rate by 1 percent in April of 2009, and will sunset on
June 30, 2011. 
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Gov. Brown Signs Bill Providing Property Tax Incentives for New
Active Solar Energy Systems 
Source:  http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/newsroom.htm
Governor Jerry Brown  signed into law ABX1 15 by Assembly Member
Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), ensuring that existing and future solar
installation projects throughout the state can continue to
benefit from the property tax exclusion authorized by Revenue and
Taxation Code 73, regardless of the financing mechanism used.
This bill clarifies that newly constructed active solar energy
systems financed using sale-leaseback and similar arrangements
that require the solar energy system itself, but not the real
estate, to be sold or transferred to a third party, will continue
to receive the property tax exclusion. “This bill was needed to
make it clear that there is no increased property tax liability
when an active solar energy system is newly installed without
regard to the particular financing arrangements used to fund its
construction or installation.  Existing property tax law, since
the early 1980’s, has promoted solar energy in California by
providing that constructing or installing an active solar energy
system will not trigger any increase in property tax. Generally,
any value added by the solar energy system will not be subject to
property taxation for so long as the property is owned by the
same person.

IRS Increases Mileage Rate to 55.5 Cents per Mile Effective July
1, 2011 
Source:http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=240903,00.html

 
The Internal Revenue Service  announced an increase in the
optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2011.
 Effective July 1, 2011 through Dec. 31, 2011, the rate will
increase to 55.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven
during this period. This is an increase of 4.5 cents from the 51
cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2011, as set
forth in Revenue Procedure 2010-51.  The IRS made this special
adjustment in recognition of recent gasoline price increases.
The new six-month rate for computing deductible medical or moving
expenses will also increase by 4.5 cents to 23.5 cents a mile, up
from 19 cents for the first six months of 2011. The rate for
providing services for charitable organizations is set by
statute, not the IRS, and remains at 14 cents a mile.
While gasoline is a significant factor in the mileage figure,
other items enter into the calculation of mileage rates, such as
depreciation and insurance and other fixed and variable costs.

The optional business standard mileage rate is used to compute
the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business use
in lieu of tracking actual costs. This rate is also used as a
benchmark by the federal government and many businesses to
reimburse their employees for mileage.
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