State updates: EDD Practitioner Hotline goes cold.

• Author: Williams, Len
• Position: CATax - Employment Development Department

The California Employment Department's Practitioner Hotline was dropped earlier this year. Calls are being forwarded to the same queue being used by the general public and callers will get whoever is up next. If you have trouble dealing with the call center, contact Jim Counts, CalCPA's EDD liaison, who might be able to get von to someone knowledgeable in the subject matter that you're phoning about. You can reach Jim at james.counts.cpa@earthlink.net.

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Board of Equalization Update

The BOE has released its list of areas where its Statewide Compliance and Outreach Program trams are operating.

Letters were sent to Nearly 10,000 business owners in the following ZIP codes: Agora Hills (91301), Altadena (91001), Altadena (91011), Arcadia (91007), Ione (95640), Jackson (95642), Lompoc (93436, 93437 93438), Norwalk, (90650), Pine Grove (95665), Pioneer (95666), Plymouth (96669), San Jose (95148), Ukiah (95482) and Watsonville (95076).

Eight different program teams located statewide (Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Van Nuys, Norwalk, Irvine, Riverside and Ventura) conduct door-to-door, in-person visits in the ZIP code areas they cover. It's important for retailers to know that the BOE asks only business-related questions and does not inquire about personal financial information. Businesses found to be operating without a seller's permit are given instructions on how to register with the BOE, as well as information about other necessary licenses. Home-based businesses are not visited.

Since 2008, the Statewide Compliance and Outreach Program has visited more than 359,800 businesses statewide to verify that retailers are registered and to ensure that noncompliant businesses do not have an unfair advantage over registered businesses that are reporting their sales and use taxes and fees to BOE.

The BOE has round that nearly 98 percent of the businesses operating in California are doing so with the correct permits, and collecting the taxes and fees. However, under-reporting taxpayers and the other 2 percent that are out of compliance--are among those responsible for more than $2 billion in uncollected taxes contributing to the state's tax gap (the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount paid, negatively impacting all state taxpayers).

This may include individuals and businesses engaging in illegal activities in our state's underground economy.

California's underground economy deprives the state of $8 billion in...