California Office of Tax Appeals Proposes Amendments to Limit Taxpayer Appeals
The California Office of Tax Appeals (“OTA”) recently released important and substantial proposed amendments to its current regulations for tax appeals that should be of concern to taxpayers with pending or future appeals with the agency. On February 7, 2023, the OTA issued a notice that it is planning to hold an interested parties meeting for proposed changes to its Rules for Tax Appeals, on March 20, 2023, at 10:30 A.M. Pacific Time.
The OTA’s new proposed revisions to the Rules for Tax Appeals contain several changes detrimental to California taxpayers. According to the OTA, these revisions are related to “recently adopted legislation” that changed the laws governing OTA, but the recent legislative change by Senate Bill 189 in 2022 primarily concerned allowing certain non-attorneys to sit on OTA panels adjudicating OTA appeals.
The OTA’s proposed changes far exceed that limited legislative alteration. For example, one significant proposed change is a new proposed self-limitation on OTA’s jurisdiction. The proposed changes to Regulation section 30104 would prevent the OTA from considering appeals that involve “whether a provision in the California Code of Regulations is invalid or unenforceable, or whether OTA may otherwise refuse to follow an applicable provision in the California Code of Regulations, unless a federal or California appellate court has already made such a determination.” As many of you know, the OTA was created in 2017 as the successor agency to the Board of Equalization (“BOE”), overtaking the BOE’s responsibility to conduct administrative appeals, and the BOE routinely opined on the validity of both the Franchise Tax Board and BOE regulations during appeals.
Those interested in all of the OTA’s changes to its Rules for Tax Appeals can review the proposed language at the link below:
If you have questions about OTA’s new proposed changes to the Rules for Tax Appeals or need assistance with any other tax matter, please get in touch today with our dedicated team of attorneys at Bewley, Lassleben & Miller, LLP.