CA Wants YOU (To Fill Out This Survey)

Oct 12, 2011 | Susan McLain

The California Board of Equalization (BOE) has launched a new tax survey “…to help the Board learn more about what Californians think about use tax.”

The survey is a short, direct set of 16 questions which does not require you to provide personally identifiable information. The BOE just wants to know how many residents understand use tax liability and why they don’t pay.

According to Tax Analysts, who obtained a preliminary report of the responses to date, “…684 out of 983 respondents know that they owe the state use taxes if a remote seller does not collect the sales tax. However, 18 percent of those who responded to the informal survey say they do not pay the use tax because they pay too much tax already, while another 18 percent refuse to pay because they disagree with the use tax.”

The results seem to indicate that many consumers are not aware of use tax obligations and that those who are aware, feel the use tax is unfair.

This effort to learn more will be used by the BOE to improve their education efforts within California and help the BOE to be more aware of the general knowledge of the public regarding use taxes. This knowledge will be used to improve communication and education efforts.

Sales tax rates, rules, and regulations change frequently. Although we hope you'll find this information helpful, this blog is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal or tax advice.

Avalara Author

Susan McLain

Avalara Author Susan McLain

Susan McLain began her career as a technical writer in technology industries such as satellite networking and medical devices. Her skills encompass technical and marketing writing, usability engineering, verification and validation testing and protocol writing, requirements development, business analysis, technical illustration/graphic design and marketing. She has owned her own business providing service to small to medium sized business and in other positions, she has been in project management, documentation and marketing. She is currently the content specialist for Avalara helping to “make sales tax less taxing.”