Assemblymember Davies seeks five-year sales-tax holiday on infant car seats

Assemblymember Davies presented AB 1596 to the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, proposing a five-year sales-tax holiday on infant car seats. Davies said the measure would make safety equipment more affordable for families who may otherwise struggle to buy up-to-date car seats.

In testimony, Davies noted a range of retail prices and said eliminating the state's 7.25% base sales tax on an example $300 seat would save about $21.75, which the author framed as meaningful for low-income households. "No family should have to choose between safety of their child and having enough money in the bank," Davies said.

Opponents included Danny Kando Kaiser of the California Tax Reform Association, who argued that tax exemptions are broad and costly and that county or nonprofit programs that provide car seats and installation services are more efficiently targeted at families in need.

Committee members questioned the targeting of a sales-tax holiday because it benefits all purchasers, including higher-income families. Davies responded that removing the sales tax shifts the policy from punitive enforcement to a proactive incentive and emphasized the policy's accessibility for struggling families. Chair Gibson referred AB 1596 to the committee's suspense file for fiscal review.