BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2225
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:  April 23, 2012

                     ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
                                Henry T. Perea, Chair
                    AB 2225 (Perea) - As Amended:  March 29, 2012

          Majority vote.  Fiscal Committee
           
          SUBJECT  :  State Board of Equalization:  erroneous charges

           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes a taxpayer to file a reimbursement claim 
          with the State Board of Equalization (BOE) for bank charges and 
          other reasonable third-party check charge fees incurred as a 
          direct result of an erroneous processing action or erroneous 
          collection action by the BOE.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Adds erroneous processing and collection actions to the list 
            of BOE actions giving rise to a claim for reimbursement of 
            bank charges and third-party check charge fees incurred by a 
            taxpayer.  

          2)Grants the BOE discretion to extend the 90-day filing period 
            for claims seeking reimbursement of bank charges and 
            third-party check charge fees incurred by a taxpayer as the 
            direct result of an erroneous BOE action

           EXISTING LAW  :  Sales and Use Tax laws provide that a taxpayer 
          may file a claim with the BOE for the reimbursement of bank 
          charges and any other reasonable third-party check charge fees 
          incurred as a direct result of an erroneous levy or notice to 
          withhold, erroneous processing action, or erroneous collection 
          action by the BOE.  Such claims must be filed within 90 days 
          from the date of the erroneous BOE action.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  The BOE estimates negligible revenue losses.

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)Proponents of this bill note the following:

               Current law recognizes the importance of making taxpayers 
               whole for BOE errors because reimbursement is authorized in 
               instances where the BOE issues an erroneous levy or notice 
               to withhold.  This measure would ensure that taxpayers are 
               also held harmless when other BOE errors occur.  This 








                                                                  AB 2225
                                                                  Page  2

               approach is not only fair, but helps promote taxpayer trust 
               in a complicated system that often is less than friendly to 
               taxpayers.

          2)Committee Staff Comments:
             
             a)   What Does This Bill Do?  :  This bill grants the BOE 
               discretion to extend the 90-day filing period for claims 
               seeking reimbursement of bank charges and third-party check 
               charge fees incurred by a taxpayer as the direct result of 
               an erroneous BOE action.  This bill also adds erroneous 
               processing and collection actions to the list of BOE 
               actions giving rise to a claim for reimbursement of bank 
               charges and third-party check charge fees incurred by a 
               taxpayer.  Committee staff believes that, as a matter of 
               basic fairness, it is advisable to expand the right of 
               taxpayers to seek reimbursement for charges incurred due to 
               a BOE mistake.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  : 

           Support 
           
          California Taxpayers Association
          California Chamber of Commerce

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :  Rosailda Perez / Oksana Jaffe / REV.  & 
          TAX. / (916) 319-2098