San Francisco Chronicle: More people fall behind in state taxes

More people fall behind in state taxes
Kathleen Pender

Thursday, November 19, 2009

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At the same time California is trying to speed up income tax revenue, people who owe the state taxes are paying more slowly.

Exhibit No. 1: Accounts receivable - another term for unpaid taxes - at the California Franchise Tax Board in August were up by $1.6 billion, nearly 25 percent over the previous year.

Exhibit No. 2: The number of taxpayers filing returns with a balance due but no payment attached is up 28 percent over the past 24 months. The amount they owed was up 50 percent.

The increase in accounts receivable "was bigger than the Franchise Tax Board anticipated," says H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance.

Taxes owed by individuals were $6.3 billion in August, up 19 percent from $5.3 billion in August 2008. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/18/BUE81AMLQQ.DTL