If your business has an unfair advantage over your rivals because you have not paid for and obtained all the state permits and licenses needed to operate, watch out.
Next month, staff from the state Board of Equalization will give Sacramento businesses in the 95826 ZIP code a taste of its new, statewide "public outreach" effort.
A team of tax specialists will visit every business during door-to-door, unannounced spot checks in the region, which includes the Rosemont and La Riviera areas.
The goal is to ensure that retailers and other business operate with the proper paperwork and properly report and remit sales taxes to the BOE. If a business doesn't have it all, they'll make sure it does - and even help.
Teams of BOE tax specialists also will launch similar unannounced visits in six other cities, including San Jose, Emeryville and Torrance.
After a pilot program in Los Angeles and South San Francisco, BOE officials estimate about 3 percent of businesses are operating without paying the required fees or having the necessary permits.
Such omissions cost the state millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, BOE spokeswoman Anita Gore said.
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