Tax Appeals Assistance Program - announcing a new Supervising Attorney December 2020 Tax News

In our January 2019 Tax News, we announced that the Tax Appeals Assistance Program (TAAP) for franchise and income tax would be administered by the Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate’s Office (TRAO) at the FTB. After almost 2 years in operation, TAAP has assisted hundreds of taxpayers with their appeals and helped resolve many cases. Beginning in January 2021, a new Supervising Attorney will join TAAP.

Mengjun He will be taking over for Craig Shaltes as the new Supervising Attorney for TAAP. Mengjun received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco, her M.Ed. from the University of Sydney in Australia, and her B.A. from China. She was a college lecturer in China, an education consultant in Australia, and has worked in a general practice law firm and a civil litigation firm specializing in personal injury cases.

Mengjun has practiced state and local taxation law exclusively since 2007. She was a legal advisor to a BOE Board member for eight years. During that time, she worked on hundreds of tax appeals involving income tax, property tax, sales and use tax issues, and regulatory matters. Mengjun then went on to work in BOE’s Legal Department, writing formal legal opinions and advising staff on various tax issues. Since BOE’s reorganization, Mengjun has worked on OTA appeals, representing the California Department of Tax & Fee Administration. Now, as the new Supervising Attorney for TAAP, she will be teaching and supervising law school students as they represent taxpayers in all matters of their franchise and income tax appeals. She is a great addition for TAAP.

TAAP is a valuable program helping taxpayers navigate a complicated tax appeal process. In circumstances where you and your client may feel it may be beneficial, please consider referring your client to TAAP. TAAP can assist with appeals cases where the amount at issue is $30,000 or less for certain tax issues. Please refer taxpayers to our TAAP webpage for more information or have them email ftbtaap@ftb.ca.gov.