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BTLG Table of Contents > Hazardous Substances Tax Annotation > Environmental (Corporation) Fee > Determining the Number of Employees Under the Environmental Fee

Hazardous Substances Tax Annotation

Environmental (Corporation) Fee

Determining the Number of Employees Under the Environmental Fee

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Job Corps Center Operators and Service Providers

Job Corps Center operators and service providers are determined to be "federal instrumentalities" for purposes of the Environmental Fee. Under the United States Constitution, states are prohibited by the supremacy clause (art. VI, § 2) from imposing any tax on any activity, agency, or instrumentality of the federal government unless Congress expressly waives the federal government's sovereign immunity from state taxation under specific circumstances. California's Third District Court of Appeal concluded that the Environmental Fee imposed under Health and Safety Code section 25205.6 is a constitutionally valid "tax," not a fee, and there is no evidence in the law that Congress has waived federal immunity with respect to the Environmental Fee (i.e., tax). Accordingly, as federal instrumentalities, Job Corps Center operators and service providers are exempt from paying the Environmental Fee pursuant to the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution. 10/10/12.