I didn’t even realize that the headline was incorrect for another reason: The tax rate for banks under the Gross Receipts Tax is actually 0%, not 0.4%+ as implied by the headline! (Business and Tax Code 954(f)(1) http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/California/busine...) Instead of a local gross receipts tax, the state of California imposes a 2% bank tax on net income (RTC 23151 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xh...). The gross receipts tax on financial services is on businesses other than banks and insurance companies.