The state already applies a 7.25 percent tax to software sold in physical stores, and now Governor Gavin Newsom wants to expand this to web-based software sales as well, Bloomberg reports. The proposed tax wouldn’t apply to streaming services and is expected to raise $2 billion annually. [Link: Newsom Pitches Software Tax to Raise Billions in New Revenue | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-14/newsom-pitches-software-tax-to-raise-billions-in-new-revenue | Bloomberg]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said it's unfair how some people avoid paying the state sales tax when buying software.

“I’m at Best Buy often, and I’m paying sales tax on a lot of this pre-written software," said Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The state already applies a 7.25 percent tax to software sold in physical stores, and now Governor Gavin Newsom wants to expand this to web-based software sales as well, Bloomberg…