Humane Society of the United States v. State Board of Equalization

I. INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 526a (hereafter section 526a) authorizing taxpayer actions attacking government “waste,” appellants Humane Society of the United States (Humane Society) and several individual California taxpayers filed this action seeking to bar, in part, the implementation of a 2001 amendment to Revenue and Taxation Code, section 6356.5. That statute provides an exemption from California sales and use taxes for the gross receipts for “farm equipment and machinery . . . used primarily ‘in producing and harvesting agricultural products.” (§ 6356.5, subd: (a).) Appellants’ complaint sought injunctive and declaratory relief that such exemptions should not apply to “battery cage” chicken coops, i.e., containers which allegedly provide chickens with inadequate space and hence violate animal cmelty laws. The superior court sustained respondents’ demurrer to the complaint without leave to amend. We affirm.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Part 1 of division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, starting with section 6001, relates to the imposition of sales and use taxes in California. Chapter 4 of that part, which starts with…