BILL NUMBER: SB 1326	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Harman

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2012

   An act to add Section 39 to the Revenue and Taxation Code,
relating to taxation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1326, as introduced, Harman. Tax information: administration.
   Existing law imposes various taxes that are administered by the
Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization, and the
Employment Development Department.
   This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board
of Equalization, and the Employment Development Department to
collaborate and focus the agencies' current and future information
technology efforts on developing a single Internet Web site portal
that virtually consolidates the agencies to enable online,
self-service access to the agencies, as provided. This bill would
also require, wherever operationally feasible, these agencies to
consolidate forms, applications, and other documents to reduce, or
eliminate, the number of multiple submissions of the same information
by taxpayers.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California relies on three separate state agencies to
administer and enforce its major taxes.
   (b) To obtain assistance and comply with California's tax laws,
policies, and procedures, many taxpayers must interact with all three
agencies, and frequently with multiple departments within those
agencies.
   (c) While this system has performed reasonably well in many
respects, the multiagency nature of the system is prone to certain
inherent problems, difficulties, and inefficiencies, and is
particularly complex for taxpayers required to comply with California'
s tax laws.
   (d) Over the past decades, numerous reports have been prepared and
various legislative proposals have been considered on the topic of
coordination and cooperation among these three agencies. The focus of
these efforts range from relatively minor aspects of increased
cooperation to proposals for full consolidation of the agencies under
"one roof."
   (e) Focusing on the customer should be a core element of
California's tax administration. Taxpayers should not have to
understand complex government structures and relationships in order
to interact with the government, particularly in a sensitive area
like taxes.
   (f) The California Tax Service Center, available at
www.taxes.ca.gov, provides an assortment of independent departmental
forms, returns, and links, tied together by a common homepage on the
Internet, and is intended to provide California taxpayers with
resources and educational programs with a goal as a one-stop tax
assistance hub.
   (g) The California Tax Service Center can be used to better serve
California's taxpaying community by virtually consolidating the three
agencies' operations to enable them to appear as one unified
organization with the goal of providing a seamless experience for
taxpayers in their online interactions with the agencies.
   (h) It is therefore in California's best interest to develop a
web-based, taxpayer-focused system that virtually consolidates the
State Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board, and the
Employment Development Department. In developing a taxpayer-focused
system, the fundamental objective should be a platform providing an
integrated experience for taxpayers, to enable online self-service
access with a single logon for all three agencies, and to provide
pertinent and essential information that will enable taxpayers to
satisfy their payment and reporting obligations, obtain real time
information pertinent to their individual accounts, and provide
assistance that will enable taxpayers to achieve optimum compliance
with California's complex tax system.
  SEC. 2.  Section 39 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to
read:
   39.  The board, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Employment
Development Department shall collaborate and focus their current and
future information technology efforts on developing a single
web-based portal that virtually consolidates the agencies to enable
online, self-service access through a single logon for taxpayers to
electronically file returns, submit forms or other information, remit
amounts due, determine account balances and due dates of taxes,
identify the status of any appeal, claim for refund, request for
relief of interest or penalty, and any other information the agencies
deem helpful to the taxpayer to assist in compliance with the state'
s tax laws. As part of this effort, wherever operationally feasible,
these agencies shall also consolidate forms, applications, and other
documents to reduce, or eliminate, the number of multiple submissions
of the same information by taxpayers.