Assist With Legislation To Protect and Expand Taxpayer's Rights

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I will continue my efforts of the last eighteen years to advance legislation that protects and expands taxpayer's rights. I am currently assisting with three legislative bills, one in the Assembly and two in the Senate.

• AB1631 will establish the standards of proof in fraud cases to be 'clear and convincing evidence' and not the 'preponderance of evidence' used presently. This will bring the Board into conformity with the Franchise Tax Board and IRS guidelines. This bill will also provide a reasonable way for taxpayers to take a disputed tax issue into court without first having to pay the entire tax liability. AB1631 has passed the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee and is now in the Assembly Appropriations Committee awaiting hearing.

• SB2174, codifies a landmark Public Records Act disclosure lawsuit against the Board of Equalization which I won in 1992. This bill identifies certain public records maintained by the Board, which were previously held to be "secret", and requires the Board to set out written guidelines for the public to have easy access to these documents. This bill has just passed unanimously out of the Senate and will begin moving its way through the Assembly in June, 1998.

• SB1478 is intended to shift the burden of proof in tax cases to the Board (and other state tax agencies) instead of on taxpayers. This bill has been held over in committee and its passage will follow the outcome of similar federal legislation now pending in Washington, D.C.