A California Chamber of Commerce-supported bill providing relief from penalties when a late tax payment is due to the Board of Equalization (BOE) website passed the Senate this week.
SB 11 (Gaines; R-El Dorado Hills) prohibits the assessment of penalties for a late tax payment for sales-and-use tax to the BOE if the failure to make a payment was due to the BOE website and not attributable to the taxpayer.
Although electronic filing and payment generally is more efficient, it also can cause delay and interruption when technological problems arise. The BOE website recently encountered such technological difficulties on a quarterly deadline for taxpayers to pay sales-and-use tax.
SB 11 ensures that taxpayers will not be assessed any penalties or interest if such website interruptions occur that are outside the control of the taxpayer, similar to other laws that allow the BOE to waive penalties assessed.
The Senate unanimously approved SB 11 on May 22. The bill has been held at the Assembly desk.
