California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a new homebuyer tax credit bill, AB 183, authored by Assemblymember Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) and Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), that will provide a tax credit of up to $10,000 to Californians who are buying their first home or purchasing a brand new home. This legislation, part of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s larger California Jobs Initiative, will play a key role in getting the state's economy moving again by encouraging homeownership and stimulating job creation.
“I have been up and down the state pushing this important housing bill that will get people off the fence and into homes while creating jobs and stimulating our economy--and today I am proud to take action and put it into law,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger. “Creating jobs is my number one priority and I am glad that I have been able to sign two job-creating bills in two days. I applaud the legislature for their great work and encourage them to keep it up and pass the remaining job-creating elements of my California Jobs Initiative.”
AB 183 was passed by the legislature on March 22 and gives the Franchise Tax Board authority to extend a total of $200 million in tax credits to California homebuyers; $100 million for buyers of new, unoccupied homes and another $100 million for first-time buyers of existing homes. The credit will be extended from May 1, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2010. The tax credit will be available to buyers on a first-come, first-served basis and is applied in equal amounts over a period of three taxable years. To qualify, the buyer must not be a dependent and must purchase a home that does not belong to a relative.
Gov. Schwarzenegger fought hard to extend and expand the homebuyer tax credit after its successful run in 2009. That $100 million tax credit, which was approved in February 2009, ran out after just four months with 10,659 Californians claiming the credit--increasing home purchases, jump-starting building projects and boosting local economies.
The homebuyer tax credit is a part of the larger California Jobs Initiative that the Governor proposed in his State of the State address in January to create jobs and stimulate the economy. AB 183 bill is the second piece of it to be approved by the legislature. A sales tax exemption on green-tech manufacturing equipment was also approved to encourage green businesses to relocate and invest in California.
For more information, visit http://gov.ca.gov.
