Under CCP 526a, a person who is assessed and is liable to pay a tax or who has paid a tax within the past year to the defendant governmental entity may sue to enjoin illegal public expenditures. This case holds that while real property taxes definitely qualify as the type of tax payment of which permits standing under this statute, payers of other forms of tax may also have standing to sue under the section. Due to the procedural posture of the case, the decision does not try to chart what other types of taxes will suffice. To establish taxpayer standing for pleading purposes, a plaintiff need only allege that he has paid or is liable to pay the defendant governmental entity a tax assessed on the plaintiff by that entity.
California Supreme Court (Cuéllar, J.; Cantil-Sakauye, C.J., Liu, Kruger, JJ., concurring); June 5, 2017; 2017 WL 2417763