Franchise Tax Board letter...1300 for not filing on time... (CA)

[Hal Roach]

But did it all surface rightvaway, or was there s big delay....20 years for me...no liens, no certified mail..not a damn thing.

[JGC97]

Originally Posted by Hal Roach

What about going directly to a "taxpayer advocate"? Or straight to the Board of equalization? I'm 14 hours later, soon to be 15, and would like to start with the best place....but I will have a look at the Governor's Office. I hate getting bounced, especially after a long hold.

You don't have to wait on hold for someone. A recording will tell you if the waiting period is long and ask if you'd like someone to call you back? It works. Did for me. Word of advice. The office opens at 7:30 am pst. Call immediately at that time. Chances are you'll be able to speak with someone right away and if not, you can have them call you back, which will usually be in 15 minutes. It does work, though.

Spoiler

(916) 845-7044

[Csonka]

The FTB is worse than the IRS and they WILL confiscate your checking account if you don't pay. Just pay them on time and if you do not, you have to file and then call them and work with them on a payment plan.

[lae60]

Originally Posted by Hal Roach

How many people would actually know in April, if they are moving out of the State in the near future?

,,, and I am disappointed that the citizens of California are tolerating the seizure of assets without anything coming close to Due Process.

I would think that if you were in CA in April of the year, then you should file a return for CA for that year, even if its a part year resident or if you did not earn enough to have to file. And mark it as your final return. It lets CA know you are leaving and have filed the last return so if they have an issue they can then tell you immediately instead of giving you a refund or whatever.

I am guessing that the folks living in CA do not care as it does not affect them. And the folks that left CA have NOTHING they can do about it.

I have only researched this as I am moving out of CA next year and do not want them looking for me in 29 years with their hand out! They have unlimited statue of limitation on what they call fraud...and at best its a mistake that can not be proven as its too old for the individual to figure out.

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

You don't have to wait on hold for someone. A recording will tell you if the waiting period is long and ask if you'd like someone to call you back? It works. Did for me. Word of advice. The office opens at 7:30 am pst. Call immediately at that time. Chances are you'll be able to speak with someone right away and if not, you can have them call you back, which will usually be in 15 minutes. It does work, though.

Spoiler

(916) 845-7044

Doesn't work if you are overseas.

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by lae60

I would think that if you were in CA in April of the year, then you should file a return for CA for that year, even if its a part year resident or if you did not earn enough to have to file. And mark it as your final return. It lets CA know you are leaving and have filed the last return so if they have an issue they can then tell you immediately instead of giving you a refund or whatever.

I am guessing that the folks living in CA do not care as it does not affect them. And the folks that left CA have NOTHING they can do about it.

I have only researched this as I am moving out of CA next year and do not want them looking for me in 29 years with their hand out! They have unlimited statue of limitation on what they call fraud...and at best its a mistake that can not be proven as its too old for the individual to figure out.

1997 is not an issue, which is, of course, when I filed 1996.

[eok]

I sent the following questions to them on their website about 1 or 2 years ago:

1. Is there any way a taxpayer can find out online if they owe any money for past years?
2. How many years in the past can they find out about, when they look online?
3. How many years do you keep holding tax refunds to pay past years? For example, if someone owed money 20 or 30 years ago, would you still be keeping their tax refunds every year to pay that?

In their reply, they said:

When a tax payer has an existing myFTB account, the balance due can be viewed. This can be viewed up to ten years with a balance.
Beginning July 1, 2006, a 20 year statute of limitations was created on the collection of income or franchise tax from individuals and business entities for liabilities that are due and payable before, on, or after that date.

[eok]

Originally Posted by cb73

However, I found on their website (link below) that FTB can go back as many years as they want to if they feel a return should have been filed.

But just because they can assess tax for a year with no return, does that mean they can go beyond the statute of limitations to collect that tax? Or does the statute of limitations start over when they assess the tax? Keep in mind that you can't use logic to determine such things. In that kind of dispute, logic gets trumped by rules, and tax agencies don't always obey rules until you point those rules out to them.

[Hal Roach]

They have clearly been making up the rules as they go along. In some cases it was stated that they claim they can restart the clock by simply adding on a 35 USD collection fee. Meanwhile, I have moved money out of any bank with a presence in California. I hope to see them in court in my State, when they attempt to domesticate any judgement, which has not been filed, in California, either. I sense a bit of quid pr quo between BAC and WFC (and some others). In exchange for California allowing them to rob people blind on fees and engage in other unscrupulous tactics (that have been well documented), those banks open up the accounts of people on very old delinquent lists and let them loot. Withdraw 100 USD from an ATM with your BAC card in a foreign country, you will get about 80 USD.