Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights Public Hearing Set for Today

Today, the State Board of Equalization (BOE) will hold its annual public hearing to listen to public suggestions, comments and concerns about property taxes and the Alcoholic Beverage Tax.

The hearing also will provide an opportunity for taxpayers, county assessors and other local agency representatives to comment on items discussed in the most recent Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate’s Annual Report, published earlier this year.

Annual Report

The Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate Office (TRA), part of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, conducts outreach to help taxpayers understand property tax laws and increase awareness of property tax savings that may be available. As part of this commitment, the office publishes educational materials written in simple, non-technical terms.

According to its annual report for fiscal year 2023–24, the office completed work on 329 cases, all relating to property taxes. Of those cases, 75% were in the valuation category, which includes topics such as exclusions from reassessment, changes in ownership, actual enrollment of values, exemptions, general property taxation and appraisal methodology, assessment appeals, declines in value, and new construction.

The remaining 25% of cases were in the administrative category, which includes topics such as delinquent/defaulted taxes, access to data, refunds, penalties/penalty cancellations, special assessments, and creating and mailing tax bills.

The report provides examples of property tax cases to illustrate how the TRA Office staff resolves taxpayers’ issues and the range of services provided by the property tax technical advisers. The report explains that the office’s role usually involves review and explanation of processes and methodologies of property tax assessments and property tax payment and collection, as well as facilitating resolutions between taxpayers and county departments. Property tax case examples in this year’s report:

• Some intergenerational transfers are excluded from reassessment.
• Some people can transfer the base year value of their home to a replacement.
• Some transfers of real property between cotenants occurring upon the death of one cotenant may be excluded from reassessment.
• Some property damaged or destroyed by disaster can have its base year value transferred to a replacement.

Hearing Information

The 2025 Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights hearing will begin at approximately 10 a.m. It is the first item on the BOE agenda.

To join the meeting by phone: 1-877-336-4440, access code 4192718#

More information about the hearing is available on the BOE website. Also available is a link to watch the meeting live.

For links to more information about taxpayers’ rights and publications available, visit the website of the Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate Office.