FTB Releases Analysis of Bills on CSEA Watch List

This Week's News

April 20, 2018

The Franchise Tax Board’s Legislative Office has released analysis on a number of bills impacting tax policy. These nonpartisan analyses are designed to inform the legislature and other concerned parties of a bill’s impact on state and federal law as well as its fiscal and economic impact. Sometimes the Legislative Office recommends that FTB take a position of either support or opposition to a certain bill and other times they will make no recommendation.

Both CSEA and FTB’s Legislative Office recommend a position of support on AB 2503 and AB 2855. AB 2503 would provide a qualified entity with two options for administrative dissolution when there is unpaid minimum franchise or annual tax and AB 2855 would amend state law to establish for a application for tentative refund process on a net operating loss carryback. CSEA supports SB 1082, which would create a penalty relief program for timeliness penalties when requested by an individual as well as SB 1473, which would prohibit CA taxing authorities from contacting a taxpayer without the federally authorized tax practitioner’s knowledge. However, the FTB Legislative Office does not provide a recommendation for either of these bills.

FTB's Legislative Office analyses can be a valuable tool for gathering context concerning where tax policy is going and for providing insight into CSEA advocacy decision making. For the lay person, perhaps the most helpful section of a bill analysis is the “Reason for the Bill.” It describes why a bill was brought before the legislature and frequently is a good indicator of what an Enrolled Agent's stake in this bill would be. For example, the reason for SB 1082 is to create a penalty relief process similar to federal law that benefits historically-compliant taxpayers, reduces taxpayer confusion and dissatisfaction, and increases compliance. Additionally, the reason for SB 1473 is to ensure a taxpayer’s right to representation. These reasons fall under CSEA legislative platform tenants two and five respectively, and lend important insight into why CSEA supports them.

You can read each of the reports below:

AB 2503
AB 2855
SB 1082
SB 1473