FTB Releases Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Response Letter

This Week's News
February 1, 2019

FTB released its annual responses to CSEA’s formal letter and Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights Hearing testimony, which were submitted at the event on November 30. As always, we want to commend the FTB for holding this forum and for taking our concerns into consideration. This year’s response letter included the following:

  • Clarification regarding the inclusion of credits from FTB withhold-at-source programs on 4686 notices;
  • Instructions on how to handle Taxpayer Information Authorizations and Power of Attorneys for deceased taxpayers; and
  • Changes made to the FTB website to inform tax professionals of a Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) glitch.
FTB also thanked us for our input on California conformity with federal tax code provisions both at this hearing and the stakeholders meeting on November 15.
 
Of note is their statement that while 2014 FTB 4686 notices will be going out without including the amount of the credit, FTB is dedicated to having the amount of the credit included on 2015 notices.
 
FTB has also updated their website with the following notification regarding the VDP issue: “If you intend to apply for the Voluntary Disclosure Program with the FTB, please note that establishing an SOS registration prior to applying for the FTB program will disqualify you from participating in the voluntary disclosure program with the FTB.”
 
Finally, FTB offered specific instructions for establishing a new relationship between a tax representative and the estate or trust of a decedent. First, file an estate or trust Power of Attorney (POA) with the Federal Employee Identification Number (FEIN). Reference the Social Security number (SSN) of the decedent, and then attach the appropriate documents. Doing so will aid in the process of getting the TIA or POA approved.
 
If you have any additional questions, please reach out to Advocacy and Governance Coordinator Brian Pedersen at bpedersen@csea.org.