Tax Attorney Los Angeles » State Board of Equalization

Sales Tax Tweet – California State Board of Equalization joins Twitter

Gary Slavett — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:03:50 +0000

Tired of following the exploits of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan on Twitter? Looking for Tweets that actually may be useful for your business? Now you can receive updated California sales and use tax news by following the Tweets of the California State Board of Equalization.

In a news release, the California State Board of Equalization announced that “[t]he California State Board of Equalization is now using Twitter to provide Californians with the most recent and useful news from the BOE. As technology continues to expand, and more and more people get their news from the Internet and social networking sites, it is increasingly important to increase BOE’s efforts to get information to the public as quickly as possible. Twitter is another helpful tool for the BOE to keep businesses and taxpayers informed and updated on the latest news and information from the BOE.

Follow the BOE at twitter.com/CA_BOE_News to get alerts about rule changes, emergency relief for taxpayers, and other updates on sales and use tax, special fees, and property taxes.”

Former IRS Tax Attorneys at Holtz Slavett & Drabkin are available to assist you with your sales tax issues.

Author: Gary M. Slavett, J.D., LL.M., Former IRS Attorney.

California Board of Equalization NOTICE TO APPEAR Letter (BOE-420-R) — What you need to know if you received this letter

David Holtz — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:22:37 +0000

California State Board of Equalization BOE-420-R Letter, Notice to Appear

In 2008, the California State Board of Equalization initiated a program to increase prosecution of violations California Revenue and Tax Code section 6071 (engaging in a sales business without a valid California seller’s permit). If you received BOE-420-R Letter, Notice to Appear, then the State Board of Equalization has determined tha t you are conducting sales in California without a valid California seller’s permit. You are in the early stages of a compliance program that may ultimately result in a criminal prosecution.

The penalty for violating R&T Code Section 6071 is a fine up to $5,000 and/or a sentence of up to one year in jail for each offense. Each officer in a corporation that conducts sales in California without a valid seller’s permit may be prosecuted under this provision and may be fined up to $5,000 and/or with one year in jail for each violation.

Before prosecution for a suspended or revoked California Seller’s Permit, it is the State Board of Equalization policy to issue notices in the following order:

David C. Holtz, J.D., LL.M., Former IRS Attorney

Form more information read, California State Board of Equalization is Increasing Criminal Prosecutions. What You Need to Know If You Received a BOE-1246-B Letter, FINAL NOTICE BEFORE PROSECTION.

Author: David C. Holtz, J.D., LL.M., Former IRS Attorney

If you have any questions, please call (310) 550-6200.

Copyright © David C. Holtz 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts of text and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to David C. Holtz with appropriate and specific direction to the original content at http://www.hsdtaxlaw.com/.

California State Board of Equalization will Accept IOUs for Payment of Sales Taxes

David Holtz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:16:33 +0000

David C. Holtz, J.D., LL.M., Former IRS Attorney

The California State Board of Equalization (“SBE”) announced on July 21, 2009, that it will accept California State issued registered warrents, or IOUs, as payment of taxes from certain vendors doing business with the State of California.

As has been recently publicized, the State of California has been issuing IOUs (or registered warrants) to its vendors who provide goods and services to the State of California because it does not has sufficient cash to pay all State obligations. While the law does not currently require that the SBE accept these IOUs as payments of taxes, the SBE position is that it also does not prohibit the SBE from accepting the State issued IOUs.

If a taxpayer wishes to make a payment with a State issued IOU, then the taxpayer must include their IOU as payment with a return. The State-issued registered warrant must be signed over and/or be payable to the SBE.

Legal Material: California SBE New Release No. 65-09-G, 07/21/2009.

Author: David C. Holtz, J.D., LL.M., Former IRS Attorney

If you have any questions, please call (310) 550-6200.

California State Board of Equalization Announced that Sales to Mixed Indian/Non-Indian Couples are 100% Exempt from California Sales Taxes Instead of 50% Exempt.

David Holtz — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:26:03 +0000

David C. Holtz, J.D., LL.M., Former IRS Attorney

On July 9, 2009, the California State Board of Equalization (“SBE”) announced that it is proposing a change to it’s position regarding sales to mixed Indian couples. In particular, the SBE’s proposed new position is that sales to married couples (and domestic partnerships) which consist of both an Indian spouse and an non-Indian spouse will now be considered 100% exempt from sales tax if they otherwise meet exempt requirements.

The SBE proposal revises its previous position reflected in law annotation 305.0013 that sales to mixed Indian/Non-Indian couples are only 50% exempt from California sales tax.

Background: Pursuant to California Sales and Use Tax Regulation 1616, the following sales of tangible personal property (such as an automobile) involving Indians are generally exempt from California sales taxes:

Sales by Indians retailers to Indians who reside on a reservation are exempt where the sale is negotiated at a place of business located on reservation and the property is delivered to the purchaser on a reservation.
Sales by Indian retailers to non-Indians who do not reside on reservation are exempt where the sale is negotiated at a place of business located on reservation and the property is delivered to the purchaser on a reservation.
Sales by non-Indian retailers to Indians who reside on reservation are exempt where the sale is negotiated at a place of business on reservation and the property is delivered to the purchaser on a reservation.

In applying this regulation, the SBE’s previous position was that sales to a mixed Indian/Non-Indian couples that otherwise meet the above requirements are only 50% exempt from California Sales Tax on the basis that the non-Indian spouse owns ½ of the interest in the purchased property, and, thus, the non-Indian interest should not be viewed as an exempt sale related to an Indian.

The SBE has amended its position proposing a change to the legal annotations by replacing law annotation 305.0013 with law annotation 305.0019.100 providing the following:

Indian and Non-Indian Couples. Provided that all the other requirements for exemption are met under Regulation 1616, sales to couples involving Indians who have entered into officially recognized family relationships under either California law (i.e., a marriage or a domestic partnership under the Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003) or duly enacted tribal law should receive the same tax treatment regardless of whether the Indians have formed legal unions with Indians or non-Indians. Under such circumstances, neither the half-interest in the property attributable to the non-Indian nor the half-interest attributable to the Indian is subject to tax.

Legal Material:

California Sales and Use Tax Regulation § 1616.

Current Legal Digest (CLD) Number 1077 (July 9, 2009).

Law Annotation 305.0013 (April 30, 1981).

Other Helpful Material:

SBE Publication 146, Tax Tips for Sales to American Indians and Sales on Indian Reservations (August 2008).

Author: David C. Holtz.

If you have any questions, please call (310) 550-6200.