Analyzing FTB’s Response to My 2025 Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Requests

The verbal Requests I made at the 2025 Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting. The written Requests, which are more detailed, are linked below.

FTB responded to my Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights (ATBOR) Requests on February 3, 2026, as promised. In the same meeting, I had made two public comments separate from the ATBOR requests. FTB included a response to one of the comments, about Protests, as if it were part of the ATBOR requests. 

I’ve learned that with FTB, what they don’t say is far more telling than what they do say. The first public comment that I’d made was asking FTB what they were going to do to correct their issues with the small business collections line. I pointed out long hold times and high hang up rates. FTB did not acknowledge the public comment at the time I made it; they responded with “Next speaker.” And they didn’t respond in writing to that comment, even though I’d sent two follow up emails stating that I expected a response. Per California law, failure to deny constitutes admission: Any material allegation in the complaint that is not effectively denied is deemed admitted. [CCP § 431.20(a); see Hennefer v. Butcher (1986) 182 CA3d 492, 504, 227 CR 318, 325]. This failure to acknowledge my comment is basically an admission that they are intentionally trying to destroy small businesses by making it impossible to resolve “issues.”

Issue 1: In the written version, I asked FTB’s board and executives to stop putting their employees at risk of federal prosecution by having FTB staff cite laws verbatim so that they can no longer deceive people about their unlawful and extra-lawful policies and procedures. In the verbal version, I asked FTB staff to protect themselves from federal prosecution by refusing to comply with unethical and unlawful behavior. 

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FTB’s 8 Schemes To Overcharge Taxpayers

For those that prefer video, here is a 12-minute speech that I made to State Controller Betty Yee via webinar in December 2020, which sums up the info below. We’re also working on a documentary series exposing the corruption.

The over-simplified explanation of the schemes that I got ensnared in is that the Franchise Tax Board does not apply the money that you send them to your account right away. Then they charge you penalties for “paying late.” Then they over-charge interest on these penalties. 

But you have to understand that the reason that they’ve been getting away with their criminal activities is because tax law is complicated, and they work the complex nature of the laws to deceive the public on what the laws actually say. 

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My 2025 Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Speech Where I Called Out The State’s Off-the-Books Spending Account, How they Unlawfully Fund It, and Asked Employees to Stop Complying

This was the speech that I intended to make at the Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting. The text, with links to evidence, is at the bottom of the post. The speech is only an overview, a detailed explanation is here.

Background: The Franchise Tax Board is required by law to take suggestions from the public on how to improve policy and procedures, as well as to take suggestions on changes in tax law, at the Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights hearing. The hearing is usually incorporated in the December Board of Directors meeting as an agenda item.

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How Will Betty Yee Govern, if Elected?

Betty Yee is currently running for governor of California. During her eight years as State Controller, she was also Chairman of the Board for the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), which is California’s income tax agency. I followed the work she did regarding FTB very closely, and have kept an eye on her since she left office. 

I believe that Ms. Yee is genuinely committed to her ideology, which includes opacity about government spending, increasing government authoritarianism, eliminating constituent’s rights, increasing social welfare programs that are questionable in terms of being ethical and lawful, rewarding corruption and unlawfully overcharging taxpayers. Here are a few of the things she has done over the years that have caused me to form this opinion:

  • When Betty Yee was State Controller, she stated in court that she wasn’t tracking how she was spending California’s money.

OpentheBooks.com, a government watchdog organization, sued her to open the accounting ledgers to show where our tax dollars were being spent.  From the article: 

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Table of Contents of My FTB Fight

I know that my website can be difficult to navigate, so here is a “FTB Table of Contents”: a list of what I have done with links to more information on each item. I am still working on adding links, so if you need more information ASAP on a particular topic, post a comment and I will make digging that particular info up a priority.

The issue that started it all:

Between the years 2008 and 2016, the Franchise Tax Board, California’s Income Tax Agency, “lost” 16 of the 20 payments that my husband and I had made. When I say “lost,” I mean that they cashed our checks right away, but didn’t apply the money to our account. Instead of locating the “lost fund,” FTB aggressively harassed me to pay the “outstanding balance” and imposed penalties for “paying late.” Here is the list of payments.

The Bona Fide Criminal Schemes I’ve Uncovered:

The 8 schemes to overcharge taxpayers that were documented via court records.

  • The Legal Process (Statutory Law)
Continue reading “Table of Contents of My FTB Fight”

2018 Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Requests

As I was updating my latest posts with links to older posts, I realized I had never posted about the 2018 Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting. Here is the text of the speech that I made and this is the video:

Due to the time limitations on the speech, the written requests are much more detailed than the oral requests. Here are written requests 1 – 6 and here are 7 – 8. This addendum contains a letter signed by Christopher Calhoun in which I believe he committed fraud and violated my taxpayer rights. This second addendum contains an email chain between myself and Susan Maples in which I believe she committed fraud and violated my taxpayer rights.

Here is FTB’s response. I believe that Susan Maples also committed multiple counts of fraud in this response.

Note: I am not suicidal, I don’t have depression issues, I am a careful driver, I rarely drink alcohol, and I do not use drugs of any kind (not even aspirin). My family lives a wholesome life. If something happens to me or my family that is out of character for us, we were set up by the State of California as revenge for exposing their crimes.

FTB’s 2024 Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights (ATBOR) Meeting

The speech was limited to 5 minutes, so it was short and succinct. This is the text of the speech. The written submission is long and detailed, and includes links to proof of the allegations made. FTB’s response is here*.

This year, I’ve also made three legislative change requests: 1 treat married couples as a single tax entity. This has more details on exactly how the married couple embezzlement/racketeering scheme works that I’d referred to in the speech. 2. Repeal 1917C2 as it violates our right to protest. 3: Remove the loophole that lets FTB evade our right to due process.

Summary: This year, I made 7 ATBOR requests:

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2023 FTB Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting

On December 6, 2023, the Franchise Tax Board had its Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting. I’ll link the full video of the meeting and the transcripts when they are published.

Meanwhile, here is a video of the speech that I made at the meeting:

The full 2+ hour board meeting is here. I speak from 1:42:26 to 1:47:38 (It was a looonnnggg meeting).

Here is the text of my speech. Since the speech was limited to 5-minutes, I had previously submitted more detailed written requests to FTB’s Board Members, Taxpayer Advocate and Executive Staff.

Seven of the twelve items are issues that I have addressed in the past: 1. The Taxpayer Rights Advocate should be addressing constitutional issues. 2. FTB to stop unlawfully imposing wage garnishments, levies and liens. 3. Disclose policies and procedures regarding the application of payments (3 specific items on this topic). 4. Stop unlawfully withholding credit elect payments from married couples. 5. Refer to taxpayers as constituents because we are FTB’s employers, not customers.

There were four new items, too. 1. I addressed the high number of executive staff that do not have oaths or bonds as required by law. 2. I requested that all statutes be reviewed to ensure that FTB’s policies and procedures follow the laws as written, with no words omitted or inserted. 3. I asked what data FTB procures from the low income people not required to file a tax return. 4. I asked why Bill Hilson made so much more money in 2022 than in previous years.

I also requested clarification of an item that I brought up last year: the “no payment” account that appears to be an off-the-books spending account. Last year, I had asked if the funds belonged to FTB or another agency (item #4). FTB had responded that the estimated tax payments are immediately turned over to the State Controller (SCO). I asked for clarification as to whether “no payments” go to the SCO or if they are only turned over once they are identified as an estimated tax payment.

Update: FTB Responded on February 1, 2023. The whole response is riddled with problems. I’ll try to write a rebuttal soon, but it is important for everyone to know that FTB said no, they will not make the executives sign properly executed oaths.

Note: I am not suicidal, I don’t have depression issues, I am a careful driver, I rarely drink alcohol, and I do not use drugs of any kind (not even aspirin). My family lives a wholesome life. If something happens to me or my family that is out of character for us, we were set up by the State of California as revenge for exposing their crimes.

The Judge’s Verdict in the SDSC Case Was Blatantly Corrupt

Last year, I posted a video of a legal scholar named Dave Myrland who talked about how the tax man owns the court. I also wrote an article about how the legal system has been hijacked by government agencies who are unlawfully extracting extra revenue for their agencies. In my first appeal of penalties, interest and fees, I saw that the Office of Tax Appeal judges covered up the Franchise Tax Board’s bona fide criminal activities with an extremely deceptive and evasive verdict. It was no surprise when it happened again in the San Diego Superior Court case.

The biggest red flag that the case was rigged against me was that the judge denied an extension of the final hearing date. On January 23, 2022, my father got sick with a MRSA staph infection. He died on February 7. On February 18, FTB and I filed a stipulation to continue the hearing until September. The judge denied the stipulation on March 1. Since I thought the extension was a done deal, I focused on burial arrangements, moving my father’s belongings out of his apartment, probate, etc. When I found out the extension was denied, I only had 10 days to complete and file the extensive paperwork that was due. A paralegal of 23 years told me that she has never before seen a judge deny a hearing extension when both sides stipulated. And the fact that the denial took so long was suspicious.

Here is the tentative ruling, which was issued the day before the trial. He threw out the majority of the documents/evidence that I had submitted on the grounds of technical violations. The Opposition to FTB’s Motion for Sanctions exceeded the page limit and my Opposition to Summary Judgment was missing a table of contents and an authentication. He could have ordered me to re-submit these items and extend the hearing date, but he chose not to.

Just like with The OTA case, the judge refused to acknowledge the existence of FTB’s questionable business practices and refused to address the laws that I cited that proved that these business practices were unlawful. He also refused to acknowledge that the arguments the DOJ made were based on lies and deception, and that FTB had committed multiple counts of perjury and had improperly withheld and redacted documents to hide evidence. Likewise, the judge refused to acknowledge that the DOJ had posted my husband’s and my social security numbers online. If I had done the things that FTB/DOJ had done, the judge would have thrown me in jail. And yet for FTB/DOJ, he just pretended as if none of it had happened.

In the oral arguments, I asked the judge to amend his ruling. Here is the summary of the oral arguments:

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Eleven (11) Requests for FTB’s 2022 Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting 

Every year, the Franchise Tax Board hosts the Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting, where constituents can make suggestions on how to change tax law and/or FTB policy and procedure to improve the system. FTB asks that you send them a written Request in advance, but it is not required; verbal Requests are accepted. Whether or not people can make a written request without speaking at the meeting is questionable. FTB let me do so in 2017, but others have told me FTB says that is not allowed.

Below is the written submission that I sent to FTB for the 2022 meeting. I participated in the meeting remotely; here is the video that I made of myself giving the speech.

Here is the text of the speech, which is shorter than written submission. The video of the full meeting is here, and I spoke from 14:35 – 19:45.

November 29, 2022

Franchise Tax Board Taxpayer Advocate Office

Email: FTBAdvocate@ftb.ca.gov

CC: FTB Board Members and Executives

Re: Eleven (11) Requests for Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting

Hello Taxpayer Advocate Staff: 

Here are my eleven (11) requests for the 2022 Annual Taxpayer Bill of Rights Meeting. I’ve included the Board Members on this email, as well. Since I know most of you are too busy to read long letters, I have highlighted the key sentence of each item.

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