California Primary Receivers (processors) that buy fish and shellfish from licensed commercial fishermen were alarmed to learn the Governor Jerry Brown had proposed a twelve-fold increase (some much higher than 12, some less than 12) in landing taxes when he submitted his 2017-18 state budget on January 10th. The plan was submitted to him by DFG Director, Chuck Bonham as a Budget Change Proposal (BCP) without outreach to processors, without prior notice.
While there are still few details, the concept developed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) would scrap the existing landing tax rates and replace them with an eleven tier tax scheme based on the value of the fish/shellfish landed. CFSI immediately requested a meeting with the DFW Director and meet with him on January 31 .
During the meeting, the Director told processors in attendance that, as he views the trends, he didn’t see a great future for the commercial fishing industry in California. Not a great opening line, nor did it set a positive tone for the meeting.
CFSI Officers Mel Wickliffe and Dave Rudie, Board member Jim Caito, members Mike Lucas and Bill McCarthy, and Executive Director, Rob Ross each asked for details about, and justification for the department’s plan only to hear the director say that details were not yet available. As of February 8th, specifics on the DFW plan have still not been made available.
In order to achieve the changes DFW desired, the legislature will have to approve their plan as part of a Budget Trailer Bill.
CFSI members concerned about the effect of an average 12 –fold tax increase (example: salmon tax would increase from 5 cents a pound to 60 cents a pound) will have on your business, please let us know and become politically active with us and join a growing coalition in opposition to a tax proposal that could cause companies to become insolvent. Contact Rob Ross, robbiz@cwo.com to discuss.
What is different about this tax proposal is the director has handed it off to the Governor and his staff who were likely not told the profound damage it will cause to fishermen, processors, or what it will do to the price of seafood for the consumer.
Then again, if the director’s observation has validity, there is not much of a future in the commercial industry in California, his plan will certainly serve to kill a thriving industry.