Board of Equalization Expands Offers In Compromise Program

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
The State Board of Equalization's Offers in Compromise program
will be expanded under Board sponsored legislation recently signed by
the Governor, the BOE announced today.

The BOE will be able to accept more offers in compromise beginning
in January 2009 for certain tax or fee liabilities, and such offers
will be expanded to qualified businesses that are still operating
under provisions of AB 2047. Under previous law only businesses that
had been discontinued or transferred could make offers in compromise.

In general, an offer in compromise is a process in which a
taxpayer offers to pay an amount that he or she believes to be the
maximum amount that he or she can afford to pay within a reasonable
time based on his or her income or assets. If the parties agree to the
amount offered, the debt is compromised or reduced to that amount.

AB 2047 (Horton) - Chapter 222, which will be in effect only until
January 1, 2013 unless extended by the legislature, also allows
compromises from use tax assessed by the BOE against a consumer who is
not required to hold a seller's permit. The BOE bill analysis notes
that these liabilities often come as a surprise to the taxpayer and
can financially cripple otherwise law-abiding taxpayers.

An estimated 202 additional offers in compromise applications are
expected to be granted annually from this new law. To begin the
process for making an offer in compromise, a taxpayer should complete
an Offer in Compromise Application (form BOE-490 for individuals or
form BOE-490-C for all other entities) and submit it to their local
district office. For more information or assistance with the OIC
process, taxpayers may contact the BOE's Offers in Compromise Section
at 916-322-7931. BOE forms and publications can be found here:
http://www.boe.ca.gov/formspubs/index.htm.

Other Board sponsored bills signed into law by the Governor
include:

AB 1452 (Budget Committee) - Chapter 763, provides that it shall
be rebuttably presumed that, except as specified, a vehicle, vessel,
or aircraft purchased outside this state and brought into California
within 12 months from the date of purchase is purchased for use in
California and is subject to California use tax.

AB 1895 (Silva) - Chapter 24, limits the amount of time the BOE
has to issue a deficiency determination (billing) against corporate
officers and other responsible persons. The bill requires that such a
determination be mailed within whichever of the following periods
expires the earliest: 1) three years after the last day of the
calendar month following the quarterly period in which the Board
obtains actual knowledge of the termination, dissolution, or
abandonment of the entity, 2) three years after the last day of the
calendar month following the quarterly period in which the Board
obtains written communication by the business or its representative of
the termination, dissolution, or abandonment of the entity, or 3)
eight years after the last day of the calendar month following the
quarterly period in which the entity was terminated, dissolved, or
abandoned.

AB 3079 (AR&T) - Chapter 306 - (1) authorizes the Department of
Industrial Relations to share specified information available in the
department's records with the Board to assist the Board in determining
taxpayers' compliance with the Sales and Use Tax Law; (2) reinstates
the Board's voluntary use tax disclosure program for unregistered
California purchasers; (3) extends the Board's managed audit program
indefinitely; and (4) requires a train operator transporting fuel
products to obtain a license and file monthly information reports on
fuel products entering, moving within, and departing the state.

SB 1495 (Kehoe) - Chapter 594 - for purposes of the disabled
veterans' property tax exemption, provides that a dwelling not
occupied because of a misfortune or calamity or a home totally
destroyed in a governor-declared disaster will continue to receive the
exemption while the home is being reconstructed.

The five-member California State Board of Equalization is a
publicly elected tax board. The BOE collects more than $53 billion
annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government
services. It hears business tax appeals, acts as the appellate body
for franchise and personal income tax appeals, and serves a
significant role in the assessment and administration of property
taxes.

California State Board of Equalization
Anita Gore, 916-327-8988

Copyright Business Wire 2008