SB 1528: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

(1)The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) administers various taxes, fees, and surcharges, including, among others, the Sales and Use Tax Law, the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, the Use Fuel Tax Law, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law, the Timber Yield Tax Law, the Energy Resources Surcharge Law, the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act, the Hazardous Substances Tax Law, the Integrated Waste Management Fee Law, the Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Law, the Underground Storage Tank Maintenance Fee Law, the Diesel Fuel Tax Law, and various taxes and fees collected in accordance with the Fee Collections Procedures Law.

Existing law authorizes the CDTFA, for purposes of the laws described above, if it is not satisfied with a return or the amount required to be paid to the state by specified taxpayers and feepayers, to compute and determine the amount required to be paid, as specified. Existing law requires the CDTFA to give taxpayers or feepayers written notice of its determination and serve the notice in specified manners, including by personal service.

This bill would additionally authorize the CDTFA to serve the above-described notice by delivering the notice electronically via secure transmission in specified circumstances. The bill would make conforming changes to these provisions.

(2)Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Tax Law, administered by the State Board of Equalization (BOE), imposes an excise tax upon all beer and wine sold in this state, as provided, on beer manufacturers, winegrowers, importers, or sellers of beer or wine that sell beer or wine on which no tax has been paid. That law authorizes the BOE, if it is not satisfied with a return or the amount required to be paid to the state by a taxpayer, to compute and determine the amount required to be paid, as specified. Existing law requires the BOE to give taxpayers written notice of its determination and serve the notice in specified manners, including by personal service.

This bill would authorize the BOE to serve the above-described notice by delivering the notice electronically via secure transmission in specified circumstances. The bill would make additional conforming changes related to these provisions.

(3)Existing law, the Sales and Use Tax Law, imposes on any person who knowingly collects sales tax reimbursement or use tax, and who fails to timely remit that sales tax reimbursement or use tax to the CDTFA, a penalty of 40% of the amount not timely remitted. Existing law exempts from that penalty any person whose liability for the unremitted sales tax reimbursement or use tax averages $1,000 or less per month or does not exceed 5% of the total amount of tax liability for which the tax reimbursement was collected for the period in which tax was due, as specified.

This bill, for determinations made on or after January 1, 2025, would instead exempt from that penalty any person whose liability for the unremitted sales tax reimbursement or use tax averages $1,500 or less per month or does not exceed 25% of the total amount of tax liability for which the tax reimbursement was collected for the period in which tax was due.

(4)The Sales and Use Tax Law provides that, under specified circumstances, the State Board of Equalization may require any person whose sales and use tax liability exceeds a specified amount to prepay that tax liability.

This bill would authorize the CDTFA, in its discretion, to relieve any person from the requirements to make prepayments, as described above, if specified conditions apply.

(5)The Hazardous Substances Tax Law requires a generator of hazardous waste to pay to the CDTFA a generation and handling fee for each generator site, as defined, that generates hazardous waste, as specified. That law imposes various penalties, including a penalty for failure to pay and a fee for failure to pay timely.

This bill would clarify that audit determinations are excluded from the calculation of any penalties for failure to pay timely.

(6)This bill would also make various technical and conforming changes, and would update references to the State Board of Equalization to instead refer to the CDTFA.