City of Los Angeles Tax Amnesty Program Underway

The City of Los Angeles is offering a tax amnesty program which runs from September 1, 2013 through December 2, 2013 for the Los Angeles Business Tax and other city taxes including Commercial Tenant’s Occupancy, Transient Occupancy and Parking Occupancy tax.

Under the amnesty program all penalties associated with unpaid taxes will be waived, representing a significant savings to taxpayers who may have unpaid City of Los Angeles taxes. The program applies to both registered and unregistered businesses and requires that all outstanding taxes plus interest be paid no later than December 2, 2013.

Should a business be identified with past tax liabilities to the City of Los Angeles after the close of the amnesty program full penalties will be imposed PLUS an additional 10% negligence penalty assessed.

Due to broadly-defined nexus standard and the fact that the city business tax is imposed on more than corporations, businesses might be unaware that they are subject to tax by the city. This includes businesses that do not have a physical location in the City but merely have employees or agents that enter the City limits for business purpose. There are many neighborhoods in the County of Los Angeles that may not include ‘Los Angeles’ in the address but are within the City limits. If a company has any business activities in the County of Los Angeles, now would be a good time to think about whether or not they have a City of Los Angeles tax filing obligation and possibly take advantage of the amnesty program.

Interested taxpayers should consider the benefits and consequences of the program before applying for amnesty. To find out more about this program contact a Marcum State and Local Tax professional.