Culver City Observer -

Franchise Tax Board (FTB) is implementing an automated dialer for outbound collection calls to contact personal income tax (PIT) and business entity (BE) taxpayers in an effort to prevent collection actions such as tax liens, bank levies, and wage garnishments.

This new customer service effort allows FTB to contact more taxpayers and provide them options to resolve their outstanding tax liabilities before collection actions take place.

Taxpayers who received a final collection notice and did not respond within the given timeframe may receive a call with a broadcast message. The message guides taxpayers to resolve their cases through FTB’s web and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) self-service options. Callers to the IVR have the option of transferring to an FTB collector who will work with them to resolve their case through several payment options.

Taxpayers already in the collections process may receive calls from the automated dialer. The automated dialer calls the taxpayer and, if the call is answered, connects them to an FTB collector who will work with them to resolve their case through several payment options. If the dialer doesn’t connect with a taxpayer, it leaves the same broadcast message as taxpayers with a final collection notice.

For more information on this new customer service effort and available self-service options visit ftb.ca.gov and search for “automated dialer” or call 888-895-8125.