California sales tax is imposed on retailers for the privilege of selling tangible personal property in California at retail. Sales tax is measured by gross receipts from retail sales. A Retailer may be reimbursed for the sales tax by their customers, however, even if the customer does not give an amount as “tax” for the purchase, the retailer is still liable for the tax. Generally, reporting sales is conducted using the accrual method, which consists of the seller reporting the sale at the time the transaction takes place, regardless of when payment is received. The cash basis method of accounting is permitted for leases of tangible personal property, which consists of reporting the sale when payment is received, regardless of when the transaction took place.
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