TAX NEWS - March 2009

California sales and use tax: State's Top 250 List of Sales and Use Tax Debtors

Public Disclosure Aimed at Reducing Tax Gap in California

The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) today updated its online list of top sales tax debtors at www.boe.ca.gov. The BOE replaced 18 names on its list of debtors. Those added to the list have delinquencies totaling $24.2 million in sales tax owed.

Since January 1, 2007, the BOE is mandated by state law to post a list of the largest 250 tax delinquencies of more than $100,000 in tax after notifying the debtors that their tax liabilities will be disclosed to the public. The taxpayers to be listed are notified 30 days before their information is posted.

Since the inception of this program, 17 taxpayers, whose account balances represent a total of $12.9 million in sales and use tax, have come forward to take care of their debts: 11 through payment agreements and six by making payments in full.

The top sales tax debtors list, updated quarterly, currently includes debtors with $271.9 million in tax liabilities. Tax liabilities under appeal, litigation, or bankruptcy proceedings are not included. Below is a list of the 18 newly added businesses with the largest sales and use tax delinquencies. For a complete list of the largest sales and use tax delinquencies in California, visit: www.boe.ca.gov/cgi-bin/deliq.cgi.



Registered Business Name                           Doing Business (DBA)                             City / State                             Amount Owed
John Kelly                                                                                                              Irvine CA                                 $4,990,107.52
Eduardo Recinos Sarceno                            European Auto Enterprise                       North Hollywood CA                  $4,674,178.90
Flamingo Car Group Inc.                                                                                         San Diego CA                           $2,420,086.74
Ed Emadi, Inc                                             South Bay Auto                                      San Jose CA                            $1,777,764.56
Maria De Los Angeles Chavez                      Discount Deals                                       Van Nuys CA                            $1,220,010.33
Leighton Hull, Jr                                                                                                     Pasadena CA                            $1,195,696.17
Barry Wayne Mancha                                  Custom Motorsports USA                        Corona CA                               $1,065,587.66
Spazio, Inc.                                                Spazio Restaurant                                 Sherman Oaks CA                     $1,038,455.30
Aftershock Power Boats, Inc.                                                                                   Riverside CA                                $997,368.16
Elias Pineda                                               Pineda Auto Sales                                  Victorville CA                               $731,904.16
Michael Brian McCullough                            Michael Brian Interior Design                  Newport Beach CA                        $668,499.37
Michael D Dozier/Lee Ann Dozier                  Zia's Pizza & Pasta                                Pittsburg CA                                 $556,252.97
The Window Factory, Inc.                            Factory Remodeling                              San Diego CA                               $526,225.38
Hebco, Inc.                                                Peter's Spirit                                         City of Industry CA                        $511,972.33
Edna Santos Alvarez/Jose Benito Alvarez       Chevron                                              Milpitas CA                                   $511,169.18
China Star Buffet                                                                                                   La Mirada CA                               $451,957.06
Robert Leslie Bledsoe                                                                                             Saratoga CA                                $434,584.40
Khaldoun M. Al Ajou                                   Kal's Auto Center                                   Anaheim CA                                 $428,692.02

Total                                                                                                                                                                   $24,200,512.21


California State Board of Equalization is a publicly elected tax board. The BOE collects more than $53 billion annually in taxes and fees supporting state and local government services. It hears business tax appeals, acts as the appellate body for franchise and personal income tax appeals, and serves a significant role in the assessment and administration of property taxes.