BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2225|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2225
          Author:   Perea (D)
          Amended:  7/6/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 7/3/12
          AYES:  Wolk, Dutton, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hernandez, Kehoe, 
            La Malfa, Liu
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Yee

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  73-0, 5/10/12 (Consent) - See last page 
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Board of Equalization:  erroneous charges

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes a taxpayer to file a 
          reimbursement claim with the Board of Equalization (BOE) 
          for bank charges and check fees incurred as a direct result 
          of erroneous processing.  

           ANALYSIS  :    The 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 
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          BOE.  Such claims must be filed within 90 days from the 
          date of the erroneous BOE action.
           
          This bill adds two provisions that allow BOE to provide 
          administrative relief to taxpayers for bank and third party 
          fees:

          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.

           Comments  

          According to the author's office, existing law allows 
          taxpayers to file a claim for reimbursement of bank fees 
          and third party charges when the BOE takes erroneous 
          processing or collection actions in regards to Sales and 
          Use Tax, but in other circumstances taxpayers are 
          responsible for paying those fees, leaving the taxpayer 
          liable for BOE mistakes.  BOE can take action, such as a 
          levy or notice to withhold, against taxpayers that have 
          been determined to be delinquent in their payments.  
          Unfortunately, this action is sometimes in error.  It is 
          only fair and equitable to reimburse taxpayers for bank and 
          third party check charges when those charges are a direct 
          result of a BOE error, and not the fault of the taxpayer.  
          The proposed change is consistent with the Sales and Use 
          Tax Law, and the intent of the original legislation that 
          authorized the BOE to reimburse taxpayers for such charges 
          stemming from BOE errors.  
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/7/12)

          California Chamber of Commerce
          California Taxpayers Association

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          3



           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  73-0, 5/10/12
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, 
            Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, 
            Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, 
            Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, 
            Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, 
            Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie 
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, 
            Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Pan, Perea, 
            Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, 
            Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, 
            John A. P�rez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Cook, Fletcher, Furutani, Jeffries, 
            Norby, Olsen, V. Manuel P�rez


          AGB:m  8/7/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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