BOE Update/SB323/Workers Compensation/ATT

Please see below news release from BOE indicating that this month 13,160 letter are being sent to retailers. Note that since 2008 BOE have visited 324000 businesses to verify that retailers and businesses are registered with a sellers permit..



I have written about our efforts to get a grandfather provision on SB 323. This bill as written would require all LLCs that have been filed since 1994 to refile under new provisions in the bill. There are 10s of thousands of these . I have talked to an accountant and attorney to see what the cost will be for these LLCs. At the very low end it will cost each LLC $6500. This assumes 20 hours of attorney time at $250 per hour. This is really low. This of course does not include the many hours a business owner will have to spend.

The resistance to this is coming from the Secretary of State who takes the position that this will create problems for them because they will have to keep two sets of records. So businesses may have to spend millions of dollars because of this bill.

A deal seems to be in the making in Sacramento on workers compensation. Labor unions and large employers have been meeting since April to put together legislation that according to Mark Lifsher in the LA Times “ would cut administrative, legal and medical cost enough to fund a significant boost in benefits paid to workers who suffer permanent disabilities from job related injuries or illness”

Rates for workers compensation according to Lifsher have gone down 60% since the reforms of 2004 but it is pretty much a consensus that permanent disability benefits need to be increased. The key for employers is obviously that the cuts will offset the increases.

What I am hearing is that a deal is imminent.



In a prior email I provided an email about a small business that was having problems with their contract from ATT. He was being charged for services he did not request and increases that were incorrect. He pointed out that ATT needed to make the contracts more understandable.

As a result I got a call from the CPUC asking if a meeting could be set up with Small Business California and a representative of ATT. I would like to her your stories not only about ATT and other utilities.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

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Cynthia Bridges
Executive Director
www.boe.ca.gov

State Board of Equalization
News Release




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NR# 81-12-S
Date: August 9, 2012
Contact: Jaime Garza
Phone: 916-327-8988
BOE Newsroom



BOE Visits Retailers Statewide to Check Business Permits
Retailers and Businesses Notified of SCOP Team Visits


Sacramento – Retailers and businesses in 17 California zip code areas can expect to receive letters from the Board of Equalization (BOE) notifying them about visits from Statewide Compliance and Outreach Program (SCOP) teams. The visits are intended to educate retailers and business owners on sales and use tax reporting responsibilities, increase tax compliance, and help make the state’s tax system fair and equal for all Californians.



This month, 13,160 letters were sent to retailers and businesses in the following zip codes: Bell Gardens (90201), Walnut (91789), Valley Center (92082), Calimesa (92320), Sun City (92585 and 92586), Newport Beach (92660, 92661, and 92662), San Diego (92107), Morro Bay (93442), Nipomo (93444), San Francisco (94109 and 94133), Sunnyvale (94087), Crescent City (95531), and Smith River (95567).



Since 2008, the BOE SCOP teams have visited more than 324,000 businesses statewide to verify that retailers and businesses are registered and to make sure that noncompliant businesses do not have an unfair advantage over registered businesses that are reporting their sales and use taxes and/or fees to BOE.



Seven SCOP teams located statewide (Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Van Nuys, Norwalk, Irvine and Riverside) conduct door-to-door in-person visits based on zip code. They check seller’s permits at stores and other known retail and business locations. They ask only business-related questions and do not inquire about personal financial information. SCOP teams check that registered retailers, as well as service industry businesses, have appropriate permits and licenses. Businesses found to be out of compliance are given instructions on how to register with the BOE and given information about other necessary licenses.



BOE has found that only about 2 percent of businesses operating in California do so without permits or licenses that allow for collection of sales and use taxes and other taxes and fees. However, noncompliance is a contributor to the more than $2 billion sales and use “tax gap” – the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount of paid.



If business owners have questions, they may contact their local BOE SCOP Team in Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Van Nuys, Norwalk, Irvine or Riverside, or visit the SCOP website.



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The five-member California State Board of Equalization is a publicly elected tax board. The BOE collects more than $50 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. For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit www.taxes.ca.gov.



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