Franchise Tax Board

Information Privacy Principles For Individuals

Introduction

Today’s technology provides a number of benefits that improve the quality of our lives, including easier access to a greater amount of personal information. We at the Franchise Tax Board work to maintain the balance between your right to privacy and our responsibility to achieve our mission.

We recognize that you have concerns about your right to privacy as it relates to personal information we collect and use to do our job. To address your concerns, we adopted the Information Privacy Principles for Individuals. We based them on the California Information Practices Act. They demonstrate our commitment to protect your personal tax information and to use that information responsibly.

Eight interrelated principles form the basis of the Information Privacy Principles for Individuals. We included a commentary with each principle explaining its significance and implications.

  1. Information Gathering and Use Principle
  2. Information Sharing Principle
  3. Information Retention Principle
  4. Information Security Principle
  5. Right to Know Principle
  6. Right to Inspect & Correct Principle
  7. Right to be Heard Principle
  8. Commitment Principle

    9. Additional Information

  1. Information Gathering and Use Principle

    We gather personal information only if it is relevant and necessary for us to accomplish our mission.

  • We use personal information in a responsible and lawful manner.
  • We gather personal information only after we determine we have an appropriate use for it.
  • We strive to use only information that is accurate, complete, and current.
  • If we use personal information for other than the original intended purpose, we first determine that the new use is appropriate.
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  1. Information Sharing Principle

    We share personal information only when we have legal authority to do so.

  • We do not share personal information with others unless: (a) you have given us the authority to share the information, or (b) the other party has legal authority to receive the information.
  • We educate others with whom we share personal information on the requirement to protect privacy.
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  1. Information Retention Principle

    We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill established business needs for that information.

  • We periodically review our business needs to retain personal information.
  • We destroy the personal information we no longer need.
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  1. Information Security Principle

    We have reasonable safeguards to ensure the security and confidentiality of personal information.

  • We educate our employees on the importance of protecting the privacy of personal information.
  • We protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.
  • We provide personal information only to employees who have a business need and only when appropriate safeguards are in place.
  • We tailor our safeguards based on the type of information we maintain.
  • We periodically review our practices to ensure we have adequate safeguards.
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  1. Right to Know Principle

    Individuals have the right to know what types of personal information we gather and use.

  • We will tell you what types of personal information we gather and how we use the information.
  • We will tell you what types of personal information we share with other organizations and the authority for sharing the information.
  • We routinely inform the public about our information privacy policies and practices.
  • We provide, upon request, information about our privacy policies and practices, including the names of staff responsible for overseeing our compliance.
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  • Right to Inspect & Correct Principle

    Individuals have the right to inspect the personal information we maintain about them and to request that we correct errors.

    • We have an accessible and simple inspection and correction process.
    • We respond to your request within a reasonable time and at minimal or no cost to the individual.
    • We correct the personal information when more accurate or complete facts are established.
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  • Right to be Heard Principle

    You have a right to be heard if you believe we failed to adhere to our Information Privacy Principles for Individuals.

    • We have an accessible and simple complaint process.
    • We investigate all complaints and respond promptly.
    • We take corrective measures when appropriate.
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  • Commitment Principle

    We periodically have outside privacy experts review our practices to ensure that we follow our Information Privacy Principles for Individuals.

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    Additional Information

    For additional information about the California Information Practices Act, visit our Website at www.ftb.ca.gov or write to:

    Disclosure Office MS A181
    Franchise Tax Board
    PO Box 1468
    Sacramento CA 95812

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