SACRAMENTO – State Controller and Franchise Tax Board Chair Steve Westly today notified 30,000 California businesses, which earned income but did not file state tax returns, to pay what they owe or face penalties.
"We will keep clamping down on corporate tax cheats to ensure they pay their fair share," Westly said. "Honest taxpayers shouldn't have to pay more because corporate cheats break the rules."
According to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB), honest taxpayers pay as much as 20 percent more to make up the difference for those who cheat.
Each year the FTB reviews corporate income records from the Internal Revenue Service, the State Employment Development Department, the State Board of Equalization, employers, and banks. The FTB compares the income data with its database of tax returns filed to identify businesses that should have filed taxes but didn’t. Today’s action relates to tax returns that should have been filed for the 2004 tax year.
The FTB will notify the 30,000 businesses that they must file their overdue tax returns in 30 days or justify why filing is unnecessary. Businesses ignoring the notice face tax assessments with penalties and fees of up to 50 percent of the taxes owed.
A similar FTB program detects individual taxpayers who earned income but didn’t file returns. That program annually identifies about 800,000 people and collects nearly $500 million.
Westly said California does not collect $6.5 billion owed in taxes every year. Westly has led collection programs and tax cheat crackdowns that have brought in more than $5 billion to the State.
Businesses receiving the FTB notice may find information at www.ftb.ca.gov/inc or by calling (800) 478-7194.
Please see attached county statistics.
County |
Number of Demand Letters |
County |
Number of Demand Letters |
County |
Number of Demand Letters |
County |
Number of Demand Letters |
| Alameda | 680 |
Kern | 128 |
Placer | 319 |
Shasta | 39 |
| Alpine | N/A |
Kings | N/A |
Plumas | N/A |
Sierra | N/A |
| Amador | N/A |
Lake | 10 |
Riverside | 809 |
Siskiyou | 11 |
| Butte | 40 |
Los Angeles | 7,380 |
Sacramento | 401 |
Solano | 96 |
| Calaveras | N/A |
Madera | 14 |
San Benito | 11 |
Sonoma | 134 |
| Colusa | N/A |
Marin | 191 |
San Bernardino | 662 |
Stanislaus | 105 |
| Contra Costa | 437 |
Mariposa | N/A |
San Diego | 1850 |
Sutter | 16 |
| Del Norte | N/A |
Mendocino | 20 |
San Francisco | 587 |
Tehama | 20 |
| El Dorado | 66 |
Merced | 24 |
San Joaquin | 130 |
Tulare | 54 |
| Fresno | 172 |
Mono | N/A |
San Luis Obispo | 67 |
Tuolumne | 11 |
| Glenn | N/A |
Monterey | 95 |
San Mateo | 396 |
Ventura | 398 |
| Humboldt | 10 |
Napa | 47 |
Santa Barbara | 148 |
Yolo | 62 |
| Imperial | 20 |
Nevada | 43 |
Santa Clara | 1,046 |
Yuba | N/A |
| Inyo | N/A |
Orange | 2,255 |
Santa Cruz | 94 |