Recently passed laws in California include a provision for the removal of the partial exemption from the state portion of the sales and use tax for property used in manufacturing. The law pertaining to this exemption, for sales dated on or after January 1, 1994, has a caveat stating that it would expire if the total non-aerospace manufacturing employment in California fell below 100,000 jobs, as determined by the Employment Development Department (EDD). Since these jobs were below this threshold on January 1, 2003, the partial exemption will expire effective January 1, 2004. For an update on this news item, click here. (California Tax Information Bulletin, Date Decided: November 18, 2003)