Effective July 1, 2017 Assembly Bill 102 will go into effect to create the new California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) and the new Office of Tax Appeals (OTA), dismantling the existing Board of Equalization (BOE). On June 15, 2017, AB 102 passed and was quickly set into motion. The bill basically splits the BOE into three parts:
- The CDTFA will take over administrating sales tax, business tax, and fee programs such as tobacco and cannabis sales.
- The OTA will be composed of Administrative Law Judges and will act as California’s tax court, overseeing hearings on tax appeals.
- The remaining BOE will focus on overseeing property tax, utility tax and taxes on insurers.
This process strips BOE of all of its power. BOE recently underwent a rigorous audit which revealed corruption and inappropriate business practices, creating a climate of fear among state workers. AB 102, endorsed by Jerry Brown, State Controller Betty Yee, BOE Board Member Fiona Ma, Senate Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, promises to create a better system to deal with issues appropriately and to ensure that taxes are fairly collected and managed across the state.
Click here for an FAQ guide on this issue.
According to the Sac Bee, “about 90 percent of BOE’s 4,800 employees are expected to move to the new departments where they will continue to do the same jobs under different leadership.” ACSS will be meeting with CalHR on June 29th, 2017, to discuss the impact on excluded employees. If you have questions or concerns that you would like ACSS to discuss with CalHR on your behalf in regards to this matter, please contact Nellie Lynn, ACSS Assistant Director of Representation, at nlynn@acss.org.