California's Unfair Tax System

At the Council on State Taxation (COST), "The Best and Worst of State Tax Administration":

The Council On State Taxation (COST) has long monitored and commented on state tax appeals processes and administrative practices. Part of that effort has resulted in the regular publication of a Scorecard ranking the states on their adoption of procedural practices which impact the perceived fairness of the rules and equirements for state tax administration and appeal of state tax matters. Why are these issues so important? Although compliance with state tax statutes and regulations is subject to audit scrutiny, the percentage of taxpayers actually audited is small. As a esult, our federal and state tax systems are premised, to a great degree, on Voluntary compliance. It is a common truth that taxpayers will more fully and willingly comply with a tax system they perceive to be balanced, fair, and effective. Taxpayers operating in a system they perceive as oppressive, unfair, or otherwise biased are less likely to voluntarily comply. The clear message to state legislatures is that they must be sensitive to the compliance implications and competitiveness concerns created by poor tax administrative rules and ineffective tax appeal systems.

California gets a D-.

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