Early last month, the California Board of Equalization (BOE) sent letters to 16,738 retail business owners stating that the Statewide Compliance and Outreach Program (SCOP) Team would be paying them a visit. The purpose of the visit is to educate them on sales and use tax reporting, tax compliance, and make sure their businesses are properly registered with the correct permits and licenses. Along with trying to collect what the BOE claims is $2 billion in owed taxes that have not been collected, the BOE said that the 2% of California businesses that are not operating with the correct permits and licenses have an unfair advantage over businesses that are properly collecting sales and use taxes. The SCOP has been active since 2008 and visited over 289,000 businesses in 416 zip codes.
Here are the cities and zip codes targeted by the BOE this month:
Chico- 95926, 95929, 95973
Cypress- 90630
Fremont- 94536
Fresno- 93711
Indian Wells- 92210
Indio- 92203
La Puente- 91744
Los Alamitos- 90720
Morgan Hill- 95037
Riverside- 92509
San Diego- 92121
Santa Rosa- 95403
Sylmar- 91342
Van Nuys- 91411
Whittier- 90605, 90606, 90608
Business owners are asked only about their businesses and not about personal finances. Businesses without the proper permits and licenses are instructed on compliance. Although the BOE does not state what penalties could be incurred if business owners are found without the correct licenses, current laws show that a business owner could be fined up to $1,000 or receive six month of jail time, along with having paying back taxes in full and receiving regular tax audits.
If you are not sure if your business has the correct licenses and permits, or receive a notice that you owe back taxes or will be audited, our experienced Certified Public Accountants and Enrolled Agents can provide you with the business tax services you need. For more information about our full range of business tax preparation and business accounting services, visit businesstaxpreparation.com today. Contact us at (866) 676-9417 or info@businestaxpreparation.com to receive a free, no obligation consultation.