On April 20, 2009, TEI filed comments with the Committee on Revenue and Taxation of the California State Assembly urging the defeat of legislation that would impose a 25-percent penalty on taxpayers who fail or refuse to furnish any information requested during a sales and use tax audit. TEI maintains the proposed legislation cannot achieve its stated purpose of advancing fairer and more efficient tax administration because it is vague, overbroad, and unnecessary and recommends the development of comprehensive administrative guidelines in lieu of a statutory amendment.
The comments were filed under the aegis of TEI's State and Local Tax Committee, whose chair is Cathleen Stevens of Brunswick Corporation; Howard Grindle of Tata Communications, (Americas) Inc., vice chair of the committee, contributed materially to the Institute's submission. Daniel B. De Jong, TEI Tax Counsel, serves as legal staff liaison to the committee.