State Board of Equalization

News Release

Member Jerome E. Horton

Third District – Los Angeles County

California’s Economic Output Outpaces Nation for Fourth Straight Year

On April 13 it was reported that California’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown consistently faster than the nation’s as a whole for four straight years. In 2015, the California GDP rose 5.6 percent, while the U.S. GDP increased 3.7 percent (unadjusted for inflation). Also called “economic output,” GDP measures the market value of goods, services, and structures that are produced within a particular period, and tends to be related to population, income, spending, employment, housing permits, and other measures of economic activity.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area led the nation with an economic output of about $1.603 trillion in 2015. California was represented by two of the top 10 areas: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim ($930.8 billion), and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward ($431.7 billion). The Los Angeles metropolitan area accounts for 37.9 percent of California’s GDP, while the San Francisco Bay Area comprises 17.6 percent.

“The greater Los Angeles area once again leads the state in economic output,” said Board of Equalization Member Jerome Horton. “I am proud to represent this region, which is responsible for almost 40 percent of California’s gross domestic product.”

San Jose has been the fastest growing metropolitan area within California – and the second fastest in the U.S. – with stronger economic growth than 380 of the nation’s 382 metropolitan areas in 2015. With growth rates that ranged from 5.0 percent to 10.4 percent over the past five years, the San Jose area had the largest increase in that time frame – 37.6 percent – more than 60 percent higher than the California average gain of 23.1 percent, for a total GDP of more than $235 billion. The Los Angeles area had a strong showing in 2015, finishing above the state average in GDP growth.

One way to compare economic wellbeing among regions is to calculate inflation-adjusted GDP per capita. Real economic output per capita in the San Jose area was close to twice that of the California average in 2015. Other areas with higher than average per capita real GDP include Los Angeles, San Diego, and Napa.

For more on this, view the Board of Equalization’s Economic Perspective for March 2017.

BOE Member Jerome E. Horton Comments on Governor’s Revised Budget Proposal

Offering his support for the Governor’s May revised State Budget released today, Board of Equalization Member Jerome Horton stated on May 11:

“I appreciate the leadership of the Governor and the Legislature on BOE reforms.  For their consideration, I submitted several BOE statutory and budgetary reforms for their consideration I believe will position our exceptional staff – who administer 39 different taxes and fees and collect $62 billion in annual revenue with a 98% efficiency rate, among the highest in the nation – to continue to provide our state with the revenue needed to succeed and support his fiscally responsible leadership.”

Horton also stated, in reference to Cal EITC, “Recapturing the $1.4 billion in Earned Income Tax Credits (federal funds) that go unclaimed annually by empowering our college and university student volunteers to help Californians file their sales, use, property, and income taxes administered or adjudicated by the Board of Equalization (BOE) is another way the BOE can help stop California from drifting into another recession.”

Re-elected in 2014, Jerome E. Horton is the Third District Member of the California State Board of Equalization (BOE), representing more than 9.5 million residents in Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties. He is also the BOE’s Property Tax Committee Chairman. He is the first to serve as a Board Member with more than 21 years of experience at the BOE. Horton previously served as a Member of the California State Assembly from 2000-2006.

The five-member BOE is a publicly elected tax board that hears business tax appeals, acts as the appellate body for franchise and personal income tax appeals, and serves a significant role in the assessment and administration of property taxes. The BOE collects $60.5 billion annually in taxes and fees, supporting state and local government services. For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit the California Tax Service Center.