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AB-1790 • 2026

Corporations Tax Law: water’s-edge election: global intangible low-taxed income.

Corporations Tax Law: water’s-edge election: global intangible low-taxed income.

Elections Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Connolly (A) , Elhawary (A) , Lee
Last action
Official status
Assembly
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Corporations Tax Law: water’s-edge election: global intangible low-taxed income.

AB 1790, as amended, Connolly.

What This Bill Does

  • AB 1790, as amended, Connolly.
  • Corporations Tax Law: water’s-edge election: global intangible low-taxed income.
  • The Corporation Tax Law imposes on every corporation doing business in the state, as defined, a tax according to or measured by net income and, in the case of a corporation with income derived from or attributable to sources both within and without this state, apportions the income between this state and other states and foreign countries in accordance with a single sales formula based on the sales within and without this state, except that in the case of an apportioning trade or business that derives more than 50% of its gross business receipts from conducting one or more qualified business activities, as defined, business income is apportioned in accordance with a specified 3-factor formula.
  • Existing federal law, for purposes of determining a taxpayer’s gross income for federal income tax purposes, requires that a person who is a United States shareholder of any controlled foreign corporation, as defined, to include in their gross income the net CFC tested income, as provided.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

No action history is stored for this bill yet.

Official Summary Text

AB 1790, as amended, Connolly.
Corporations Tax Law: water’s-edge election: global intangible low-taxed income.
The Corporation Tax Law imposes on every corporation doing business in the state, as defined, a tax according to or measured by net income and, in the case of a corporation with income derived from or attributable to sources both within and without this state, apportions the income between this state and other states and foreign countries in accordance with a single sales formula based on the sales within and without this state, except that in the case of an apportioning trade or business that derives more than 50% of its gross business receipts from conducting one or more qualified business activities, as defined, business income is apportioned in accordance with a specified 3-factor formula. Existing federal law, for purposes of determining a taxpayer’s gross income for federal income tax purposes, requires that a person who is a United States shareholder of any controlled foreign
corporation, as defined, to include in their gross income the net CFC tested income, as provided.
The Corporation Tax Law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2003, for purposes of determining income derived from or attributable to sources within this state, allows corporations to make a statutory election as to whether their income is determined on a “water’s-edge” basis or on a worldwide unitary basis. Under existing law, the election to report income on a water’s-edge basis remains in effect until terminated, and provides conditions for the termination of the election.
This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, would require a taxpayer that files on a water’s-edge basis to account for net CFC tested income within the water’s-edge group, as provided. The bill would require a taxpayer that files on a water’s-edge basis to include all income
and apportionment factors of any corporation, other than a bank, whose sales factor, instead of the average of 3 factors, in the United States is at least 20%. The bill would also terminate all water’s-edge elections for the first taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2028, and would not allow a taxpayer to make a water’s-edge election, or file on a water’s-edge basis, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2028. The bill would authorize any taxpayer that has made a water’s-edge election to terminate that election without the consent of the Franchise Tax Board for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2028.
This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of
2
/
3
of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Current Bill Text

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