Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Hearing Summary Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights Annual Report to the Legislature

The Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights Act requires FTB to conduct an annual hearing before the three-member Board where tax professionals, industry representatives, and individual taxpayers are allowed to present their proposals on changes to the personal income tax or franchise and corporation tax laws, as well as changes to administrative procedures. FTB typically holds the hearing in December.

Some of the issues raised at the December 2020 Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Hearing, include the following:

• Suggestion for FTB to continue partnering with Covered California to generate public awareness about the Individual Health Care Mandate, including available subsidies and the penalty for not having health care insurance.
• Suggestion for FTB to put more emphasis on print and website resources that help explain to taxpayers what to do if they cannot pay their tax liabilities.
• Request for FTB to provide additional clarity on what constitutes “doing business” in California under R&TC Section 23101(a).
• Request for FTB to include amortization schedules on each tax bill showing how the interest for the billing period was calculated.
• Request for FTB to grant abatement of the e-pay penalty for taxpayers who made a payment of estimated taxes over the threshold amount in 2020.

The Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate’s complete responses to all issues raised can be found on the Advocate’s Your Taxpayer Rights webpage on FTB’s website.