Bill Leonard, who I just linked to, is one of the five elected members of the Board of Equalization. The BOE directly administers California sales taxes, and hears appeals of various tax rulings.
A few years ago a gentleman declared bankruptcy. He thought he owed (through his corporation) the BOE, so he listed the BOE as a creditor. He wasn’t sure of the amount, so he listed about $100,000 owed. The BOE never responded.
Fast forward a few years to today. It turns out the corporate debt to the BOE was about $7,000. Add in interest and penalties and the sum is now over $44,000. The man is out of luck (the law is on the BOE’s side) but Mr. Leonard is upset over a dispute that should have been resolved years ago…but wasn’t.
In the YouTube video below, Mr. Leonard pointedly asks BOE staff members why they didn’t respond years ago to the request. The audio quality is poor, but the content is worth watching (and listening to). It shows, unfortunately, the California bureaucracy at work.