The governor of California recently signed a bill that places a 1 percent tax on lumber products for consumers-however, according to the Sacramento Bee, the tax will not cover "indoor flooring" when it takes effect in January.
The purpose of the legislation is to divert regulatory costs previously paid by manufacturers. According to Gov. Jerry Brown's office, under current law, California companies "pay multiple regulatory fees when harvesting timber, giving out-of-state companies a major competitive advantage. As a result, 70 percent of California's lumber is currently imported. This new law eliminates regulatory fees and imposes a one percent assessment on lumber sales to level the playing field with out-of-state timber companies." The new law also gives companies extra time to harvest timber without having to duplicate environmental compliance documents.
The new law was opposed by retailers Home Depot and Lowe's.
