Flat farking broke

[figmo]

Someone sucked all the money out of my savings and checking accounts today. My E*Trade account is about to get seized by the state for back taxes they think I owe (my accountant is still working on the returns for the last three years due to discrepancies on E*Trade's part during my "day trading" days). I suspect it's the looney guy from the CA Franchise Tax Board.

I don't know what to do. How the hell am I supposed to pay bills when I can't write checks or put the funds in for the folks who are supposed to auto-suck them? Do I need a tax lawyer? Do I need a bankruptcy lawyer?

I'm terrified.

Comments

well, hell

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

The MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do, aside from immediately contacting FTB, is to successfully file your back tax returns AT ONCE. Little is possible until you do this.

If you cannot file your returns because you can't prove some of the transactions happened, now you probably need a lawyer. And not just to deal with FTB . . . quite possibly to deal with your incompetent accountant as well.

1) stop payment on all your existing checks, no sense in having them bounce because the money's gone

2) According to FTB you (or someone) had to ignore several efforts at contact before this happened:

http://www.taxes.ca.gov/pastduebus.html

3) One of the Consumer Credit Counseling services had some useful advice: http://www.cccssacto.org/tips/tax.html

Go read it. It's a useful summary.

4) The FTB's own processes for collecting unpaid tax are at:

http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/pub54.pdf

See page 5 for full information on levies . . . you have 10 days in which to contact FTB before the money actually disappears . . . but you should get in contact with FTB immediately. ("Call the Board employee whose name is shown on the Notice of Levy.") You personally should call at once. _Don't_ trust your accountant to handle this or anything else from now on.

"Significant economic hardship" is a valid ground for reversing a levy.

6) You are keeping full documentation of your contacts with FTB, right? And your accountant? And the lawyer you need to hire? And E-Trade? _Document everything_.

7) You can contact FTB's Web site for a full explanation, individualized to your case, by visiting the following URL with documents in hand:

http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/Bills/index.html

8) You can make an arrangement for payment ("Offer in Compromise") IF your tax returns are filed AND you agree with FTB on how much tax is owed.

If you don't agree with FTB on how much tax is owed, you need to show FTB why this is the case. They can't take your word for it, they need proof.

This is why your returns MUST be filed. The assumption is that since you haven't filed, you must have something major to hide.

Re: well, hell

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

Two more things:

1) Someone in the bureaucracy on YOUR side (in theory): CA has a Taxpayer Advocate program where you can get advice on what FTB is doing to you.

http://www.ftb.ca.gov/aboutFTB/taxpayer_advocate/index.html

If you are unsuccessful in your efforts to deal with FTB, immediately contact the Taxpayer Advocate and they may be able to help.

2) You cannot afford to ignore this in the hopes it will go away. You cannot afford to take the chance that important mail regarding this case is being lost or misplaced or thrown out somehow.

Everything can and will be fine IF you go take care of it and continue to follow up. If you tune out and don't follow up, "You snooze, YOU LOSE."

I'm sure you can get it all worked out. Best of luck to you on all of it.

And do drop me a private E-mail sometime when you're much less busy than you are now . . . meow

Re: well, hell

[figmo.livejournal.com]

This is just so effing frustrating. I did call the FTB yesterday, which is when I found out the guy on my case (yes, I know his name) only works 7am-5pm M-Th. Since Monday's a state holiday, I can't do a thing till 7am Tuesday, and you can bet I'll be on the phone at 7:05am that day.