Resolution 12682CITY OF RESOLUTION NO. 12682
DECLARING THE NEED FOR AND SUPPORT OF THE BRADLEY-BURNS
BILL OF RIGHTS
WHEREAS, the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use
Tax Law provides for administration of local sales and use tax by
the Board of Equalization pursuant to a statewide contract; and
WHEREAS, sales and use tax has become the primary
source of local government general revenue for most of California's
cities and is a major source of revenue for California's counties;
and
WHEREAS, cities and counties contract with and pay a
significant fee to the Board of Equalization for administration of
their sales and use tax, a most important component of local
government financing; and
WHEREAS, disputes arise regularly between Board of
Equalization staff and the contracting local jurisdictions over the c
proper, consistent and responsive administration of the city's and 1:
county's local sales and use tax; and
WHEREAS, these disputes, which often go unresolved, may
involve either simple factual disagreements or administrative
policies applied by Board of Equalization staff without statutory,
regulatory, contractual or Board Member support; and
WHEREAS, there are no established procedures whereby a
contracting local jurisdiction can seek to resolve such disputes;
and
WHEREAS, the establishment of clear and specific rights
of contracting local jurisdictions and a formal dispute resolution
process will help to promote fair, equitable and responsive
administration of local sales and use tax by Board of Equalization
staff.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the
City of Alameda that the Bradley-Burns Bill of Rights (a copy of
which is attached hereto as Exhibit A) is a necessary set of tenets
which should be recognized by the Board of Equalization and the
State of California; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLOVED that the Board of Equalization
should adopt the appropriate resolutions or regulations to enact
the provisions of the Bradley-Burns Bill of Rights.
BRADLEY-BURNS BILL OF RIGHTS
Statement of Principles
August 21, 1995
To promote fair, equitable and responsive administration of the
Agreement for State Administration of Local Sales and Use Taxes
(the "Contract"), the Board of Equalization should establish an
appeals process to facilitate resolution of disputes and other
issues between the Board of Equalization and its client cities,
counties and districts.
Each local jurisdiction contracting with the Board of Equalization
has the right to depend on Board of Equalization staff to provide
informative and responsive services to help jurisdictions
understand the local sales and use tax laws administered by the
Board of Equalization. Jurisdictions have the right to receive and
the Board of Equalization has an obligation to provide open,
uniform and consistent administration of the local sales and use
tax in order that local jurisdictions may perform competent audit
oversight and accountability of those revenues on their own behalf.
The Bradley-Burns Bill of Rights is designed to establish the clear
and specific rights of contracting local jurisdictions and a formal
dispute resolution process to promote fair, consistent and
responsive administration of their local sales and use tax by Board
of Equalization staff. The Bradley-Burns Bill of Rights includes
the following principles:
NOTIFICATION
Jurisdictions have the right to receive notice of any proposed
regulatory action by the Board of Equalization a minimum of 45 days
before the Board of Equalization considers the action.
RECORDS
Any duly authorized officer, employee, or other person designated
by resolution of the legislative body of a jurisdiction contracting
with the Board of Equalization has the right to examine all of the
sales, transactions, or use tax, situs and pool data records of the
Board of Equalization pertaining to businesses located in the
requesting jurisdiction, as permitted under existing law.
UNIFORM LAW OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Jurisdictions have the right for the law to be administered in a
uniform manner.
EXHIBIT A
WRITTEN INFORMATION
Jurisdictions have the right to rely on the Board of Equalization's
written information and answers to inquiries. Jurisdictions have
the right to prompt and accurate responses from the Board of
Equalization or its staff. When writing to the Board of
Equalization with a question or notifying the Board of Equalization
in writing of a local tax distribution error, jurisdictions have
the right to a written response and resolution within 90 days.
DISTRIBUTIONS
Jurisdictions have the right to rely on the Board of
Equalization to use its best efforts to ensure that
local tax collected is distributed directly to
jurisdictions and to distribute or charge such local
tax to all conforming taxing jurisdictions, statewide
or countywide, only when direct distribution is
impractical in accordance with the Contract.
To facilitate the distribution of sales and use tax in
accordance with local ordinances and Board of
Equalization regulations, Board of Equalization staff
shall issue sales and use tax permits at the request of
a local jurisdiction to any business located within
that jurisdiction which may incur a sales or use tax
liability.
APPEALS
Jurisdictions have the right to appeal findings of
Board of Equalization staff. If a jurisdiction
disagrees with the findings or determinations of a
Board of Equalization department, that jurisdiction
may:
• File an appeal with the Board of Equalization; the appeal
will be assigned to a Board of Equalization staff attorney
who is independent of the department from which the appealed
action originated, within 30 days of filing the appeal;
• Request and be granted an informal hearing or conference
with the Board of Equalization staff attorney or other
hearing officer assigned to the case and the auditor and
department supervisor from which the appeal originated,
within 60 days of the request; and
• Receive a written disposition of the appeal (issued by the
Board of Equalization staff attorney or other hearing
officer), which need not include findings of fact or
conclusions of law, within 45 days of the informal hearing.
BOARD HEARINGS
If a jurisdiction disagrees with the disposition of the Board of
Equalization staff attorney or the hearing officer, the
jurisdiction may file an appeal with the elected Board Members
within 90 days from the date of issuance of such disposition.
jurisdictions have the right to:
• Waive a hearing before the Board Members in which case the
Board Members may decide he case based solely on the record
established in the informal hearing or conference; or
• A hearing before the Board Members to present the case for the
appeal, within 120 days of the date of the appeal; hearings
will be held at one of the Board's regular meeting sites and,
when practical, will be held at a meeting site near the
appealing jurisdiction; jurisdictions will be notified of the
hearing date and location a minimum of 45 days before the
hearing.
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution was duly and regularly adopted and passed by the Council
of the City of Alameda in regular meeting assembled on the 5th
day of September , 1995, by the following vote to wit:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Councilmembers Arnerich, DeWitt, Lucas,
Mannix and President Appezzato 5.
None.
None.
ABSENTENTIONS: None.
IN WITNESS, WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the
official seal of said City this 6th_ day of September , 1995.
Dian B. Felsch, City Clerk
City of Alameda