California tax board taps e-gov
The state is planning several e-government applications designed to be more helpful to customers
As the saying goes, "Death and taxes may always be with us, but death, at
least, doesn't get any worse." And for Californians, dealing with the taxman
might be getting a little easier.
The California Franchise Tax Board — which processes 14 million personal
income tax and business returns and contributes $33 billion to state coffers
— is planning to introduce several e-government applications designed to
be more responsive to customers.
In February, the agency will introduce an "e-notification" service that
enables taxpayers to get electronic reminders to file their returns, said
Denise Azimi, an agency spokeswoman. The e-notification, she said, would
provide links to Web sites for commonly used forms, e-filing information,
tips on common errors to avoid and information on what's new for the tax
season, including a preview of new tax laws. Taxpayers can sign up through
the agency's Web site ({http://www.ftb.ca.gov} www.ftb.ca.gov).
A new application in March will enable taxpayers to request online that
the tax agency debits their bank accounts for the payments they owe. And
if they can't make their payments by April 15, they will be able to fill
out an application online to give a reason and request an installment plan.
Another service will enable taxpayers to review their accounts online
— using a customer service number and a personal identification number
— to check on payments or balances owed. Taxpayers currently have to call
an agency representative to have their accounts reviewed, Azimi said.
The services come at the heels of a collection and compliance system
installed last year called the Integrated Non-Filer Compliance (INC) project.
INC replaced a 25-year-old mainframe system that wasn't always efficient,
didn't use all data records to identify non-filers, and sometimes received
false information, Azimi said. As a result, it erroneously identified some
taxpayers as non-filers.
The new system, which mines a 4-terabyte data warehouse built by IBM
Corp., has helped identify an additional 100,000 non-filers using 220 million
pieces of information, about 8 million to 9 million more data records than
before, she said. The system also reduced the number of erroneous contacts
by 50,000, a 50 percent drop, she added.
The system has brought in an extra $82 million from the 1999 tax season,
and state officials estimate that it will generate another $36 million annually
in new cash to the state, said Azimi, adding it cost about $61 million to
develop the system. The agency and IBM, which was awarded the contract in
1998, also provided an eight-hour training class to all employees.
Azimi said several states had expressed interest in the system. Last
April, the Federation of Tax Administrators, a nonprofit group composed
of tax and revenue departments from the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and
New York City, gave the agency an award for the system.
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