all 12 comments

[–]mikipika 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

The feedback that I have gotten from the legislators is they are uninterested in hearing one person whine about unfair fees. They said in order to be credible, I need to gather a posse.

This infuriates me. There is a problem and instead of correcting it they say you need a posse? I hope this becomes a class action against them.

[–]christine_grab[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I know, right? I have learned a lot about government bureaucracy over the last few years as I've been fighting the FTB. Each legislator is only allowed to present a few bills per year. Each legislator is on several committees, and they usually present bills related to the committees they are on. They also all have their "pet projects" -- for example, I am in Toni Atkins district and she is a lesbian and pushes a lot of LGTBQ stuff. Since they are limited on how many battle fronts they are allowed to fight, they pick the bills that give them the most "bang for the buck." So, they view my bill as only one vote -- mine. They pick bills that will garner them tens of thousands of votes, as well as big campaign contributions to ensure ads to garner more votes. This is where lobbyists come into the picture. The lobbyists get legislators attention in the first place with offers of donations, endorsements of influential groups, etc. and convince the legislators why its best to choose their particular bill over all the others they are considering.

As for class action... I spent months looking for a lawyer for a class-action suit to no avail. When I finally got to the "fuck it, I'll do it myself" point and went to the law library, I found out that "Class Action" means that every person in the group was harmed in an identical way. So say there are 100 people in the class. If everyone sued individually, they would be basically 100 identical lawsuits. Since tax situations vary with each person, it is unlikely that each taxpayer was harmed in an identical way. As such, it is unlikely that a judge would ever certify a class in a lawsuit involving income taxes. But if a few of us sue individually and win, the State of CA will have to change the unlawful practice because they will be losing more money than they are making from the unlawful schemes. But as long as the racketeering schemes are net positive financially, the government will let it keep going.

[–]mikipika 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

You are really good at explaining this complex problem. I can see why it would be difficult to get enough people to help you. The scenario being played out is one where crooked policy makers are getting away with crime. Who in the FTB started this. And the lawyers. Sigh. What a wretched lot!

[–]christine_grab[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thank you! The Franchise Tax Board's mandate is "to protect the revenue." They take that mandate as "gather as many dollars as possible in any way possible." If the FTB was a human being, they would be diagnosed as a sociopath: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353928?page=0&citems=10. As I have talked to lawyers and other groups about the FTB, the most commonly used word to describe FTB is "retaliatory." They have a big stick and they are eager to beat you with it if you don't submit unquestioningly to all their demands -- even blatantly illegal demands. They harassed the fuck out of me for money that I never owed because I had the audacity to point out to them that I had already paid the money and they'd lost it. They refused to locate my lost money -- they said they didn't have it -- despite me sending proof of payment 31 times -- and they tried to garner wages and levy bank accounts because I didn't send them more. How dare I want an accounting of what they did with the money that I'd sent them!

That said, the CA government squanders money like there is no tomorrow, and legislators don't want to fuck up their gravy train. So legislators turn a blind eye to the unlawful practices, and when they can't, they do everything they can to shield the FTB from consequences of their unlawful practices. I am certain that is why Gov, Brown and State Controller Yee set up The OTA court in the first place. The BOE was siding with the taxpayers too often -- that wasn't going to be tolerated! Out with the BOE and in with The OTA, who would usually side with FTB!

As to the question of who started this... it's been going on a long time and I am sure it has slowly but steadily built up over the years, with many, many people involved. But there was one person who caught my eye. I gave a speech at the December 2018 meeting, too (https://vimeo.com/311228307?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220). I had submitted the written request all the way back in October, so the FTB had known for almost 2 months exactly what I would be saying when I spoke that day. After the speeches, there was a little ceremony to honor a few long-time employees who were retiring. One of the employees was very high up in the legal department. They described him as a "creative genius." Hmmm... creative genius is not usually how you describe a lawyer who sets legal policy for a government agency... and it was interesting that he retired at the same time I publicly accused them of racketeering.... he also said he planned to do a lot of traveling in his retirement. I thought "Yeah, I'll bet you'll be spending a lot of time in countries without extradition treaties."

[–]crazedchef63 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

WOW!

Awesome work fellow citizen! We need more patriots like you!

Normally I would say "FLY, YOU FOOL!" because you are behind enemy lines, but it seems like you are doing an amazing job so, "Fight the good fight!"

[–]christine_grab[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thank you! I have been doing this FTB fight for 8 years. Learning how to navigate the bureaucracy has been slow, frustrating and a bit expensive, but I am finally starting to see results. I am hoping that I can pass what I have learned on to others so that others can also take up the fight against government agencies in the State of CA and see results more quickly and easily than I did. I feel like the FTB saw me as vulnerable and deliberately exploited that vulnerability. Now that I am in a better position, I feel obligated to fight for all the other vulnerable people that they are actively exploiting because most of them cannot fight for themselves. Honestly, we are considering leaving the state, but I feel like I need to at least try to make it better first.

[–]beermeem 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

You should be mayor.

[–]christine_grab[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thank you! :)

[–]mikipika 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I saw your original post. Thanks for the update. I will share your story with others. I hope you run for office so I can vote for you.

[–]christine_grab[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thank you for spreading my story! I am flattered that you think I'd be a good politician, but I don't see myself running for office...

[–]FormosaOolong 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

OMG you are amazing! I can't believe what a powerhouse you are, and how dogged. Thank you so much for not giving up, or in, and I hope you get your posse and clean up this whole nasty business!

[–]christine_grab[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thank you!