In an effort to reduce the amount of court-ordered debt owed in the state, the California Legislature authorized the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) and county superior, municipal and justice courts to form partnerships to collect court-ordered debts. FTB collects criminal fines, penalties, forfeitures and restitution orders, as well as most Vehicle Code violations. FTB’s Court-Ordered Debt Collection program is authorized under Section 19280 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code.
In locating an individual’s assets, FTB has the ability to search through more than 220 million income records, including wage information on all California employees and interest and dividend information on all California accounts. Once assets are located, FTB can issue levies that are not limited by intrastate jurisdictional boundaries. FTB also has the authority to seize real and personal property, such as vacant land, cash, safe deposit boxes, vehicles and boats.
By continuing this partnership with the State, Revenue Services will broaden the scope of collection resources available for securing debts owed to the County. This agreement will assist Revenue Services in maximizing our collection efforts. Utilizing the Franchise Tax Board to assist with collections for the County was also recommended by the County auditors.
The State requires all Counties who enter into such collection partnerships to sign the State’s standard contract for such matters. In reviewing the standard contract from the State, we observed that their non-discrimination clause does not speak to discrimination due to a person’s sexual orientation; however, the State Attorney’s office will not approve changes to the language.
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