Fiona Ma was elected in November 2014 to represent the State Board of Equalization’s Second District. Ma was previously elected to represent the residents of California’s 12th Assembly District from December 2006 to November 2012 and served as the first Asian woman Assembly Speaker pro Tempore since 1850.
As a Member of the State Board of Equalization, District 2, she will work to ensure the agency treats all taxpayers with respect and dignity. She will aggressively combat the underground economy which deprives California of approximately $8.5 billion in tax revenue and promote administrative and legislative policy changes that make it easier for individuals and companies to do business in California. She is one of the few Certified Public Accountants to serve on the State Board of Equalization.
While serving on the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, she led efforts to reform California’s outdated tax code and reward investment in our state. She also focused on improving California’s bottom line and authored legislation to create jobs in California and grow the state’s economy. As an Executive Board Member of the National Conference of State Legislators, she worked to keep California competitive with other states.
Ma first became interested in politics while a small business owner and a Certified Public Accountant who advocated on behalf of other small businesses. She was an elected delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business under President Bill Clinton, which produced a report to Congress on the 60 top policy recommendations to help small businesses grow and prosper in the 21st century.
In 2002, she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where she served for four years until 2006. During her tenure on the Board of Supervisors, she authored the landmark Local Business Enterprise ordinance on behalf of women and minority business owners and passed legislation to fight human trafficking.
Ma received her B.S. from the Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), her M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University (SF), and an MBA from Pepperdine University. She has been licensed in California as a Certified Public Accountant since 1992.