Culver City Observer -

Tax Board Notifying Culver Retailers of Upcoming Visits

Retailers throughout the state are receiving letters from the California State Board of Equalization (BOE) notifying them about upcoming visits from Statewide Compliance and Outreach Program (SCOP) teams.

SCOP visits are intended to educate retailers about properly reporting sales and use tax, increase compliance with tax laws, and maintain outreach efforts to assure taxpayers the state’s tax system is fair and equal for all Californians.

The BOE is mailing letters to 8,105 business owners in the following zip codes: Culver City (90232), Pasadena (91105), Northridge (91325), Mission Viejo (92692), Ventura (93003), Antioch (94509), Belvedere (94920), Homewood (96141), Tahoma (96142), Carnelian (96140), and Tahoe City (96145).

Eight different SCOP teams located statewide (Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Van Nuys, Norwalk, Irvine, Riverside, and Ventura) conduct door-to-door, in-person visits in the zip code areas they cover. It is important for retailers to understand that the BOE asks only business-related questions, and does not inquire about personal financial information.

Businesses found to be operating without a seller’s permit are provided instructions on how to register with the BOE, as well as information about other necessary licenses. Home-based businesses are not visited.

Since 2008, SCOP has visited more than 376,500 businesses statewide to verify retailers are registered, and to ensure noncompliant businesses do not have an unfair advantage over registered businesses that are reporting their sales and use taxes and/or fees to BOE.

The BOE has found that nearly 98 percent of the California businesses are operating with the correct permits, and collecting the taxes and fees. However, under-reporting taxpayers, and the other two percent that are out of compliance, are among those responsible for more than $2 billion in uncollected taxes contributing to the state’s “tax gap” – the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount paid, negatively impacting all state taxpayers.

If business owners have any questions about these upcoming visits, they may contact their local BOE SCOP Team or visit the BOE’s SCOP Web page at www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/SCOP_Overview.htm.