Frivolous Filing Penalty

December 12, 2025February 18, 2026

At the 2025 Board Meeting, I Gave More Details About How FTB’s Schemes Work

February 2025 Update: FTB did respond to the requests.

At the FTB Board Meeting on Monday, December 8, in addition to making my planned speech, I had the opportunity to make a couple of off-the-cuff public comments that helped to put the pieces together of how FTB uses “gross incompetence” as a cover for their bona-fide criminal schemes to overcharge taxpayers, particularly small businesses.

The first comment was in response to a presentation on how FTB was going to improve its customer service by modernizing its contact platform. In the presentation, Mr. Banuelos and Ms. SoRelle did not address the serious problem that FTB has with hanging up on callers, so I asked about it in an 80-second public comment. FTB did not even acknowledge that I had made the comment.

This is the letter from FTB’s Disclosure Department that I had referenced in the video. From page 2:

September 8, 2025February 28, 2026

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)

December 6, 2022December 17, 2023

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.

December 6, 2022December 20, 2024

Legislative Change Request #3 for 2023 — Repeal R&TC 19179(c)(2)

The legislative year starts at the beginning of September. From September to December, each legislator decides what they want to introduce for the next year. Below is a Legislative Request that I sent for the 2023 session.

November 29, 2022

Dear Governor Newsom Staff, GovOps Staff, Senate Governance and Finance Committee Members and Staff, Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation Members and Staff, and FTB Legislative Staff:

I request that you repeal Revenue and Tax Code 19179(c)(2) as this law is a violation of the California and US Constitutions. This law allows the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to penalize a taxpayer $5,000 for exercising their right to Protest. This law directly violates R&TC Sections 21010 and 20102, which guarantees the Right to Protest as a part of the California Taxpayer Bill of Rights. It is unconscionable that a law that allows the taxation agency to punish someone for exercising their rights was enacted in the first place.

This issue goes beyond civil rights. The Franchise Tax Board sends notices threatening that the Taxpayer will be assessed a penalty of $5,000 if the Taxpayer does not withdraw his Protest or alter his return as preferred by the bureau. These coercive threats of penalty violate multiple federal criminal codes, including 18 USC §1512, Tampering with a witness; 18 USC §872 and §1951(b), Extortion; 18 USC §876 and §1341, Mailing threatening communications.

January 19, 2022December 22, 2022

The Colossal Criminal Conspiracy Behind the IRS – The Penalty Scam by Roger (Buck) Knipp

Roger (Buck) Knipp wrote a book a while ago called The Colossal Criminal Conspiracy Behind the IRS – The Penalty Scam. He has just released an updated version of his book with a new section on the corruption at the California Franchise Tax Board.

Here is the blurb: “IRS” and “FTB” fraudulently “assess” $5,000 penalties in response to almost any return or document that they disfavor or don’t understand, and more if the target is married or tries to explain. Ironically, there are no enacted code sections or regulations permitting “frivolous submission” penalties on the average American. With the help of professional researchers and 6 years in law school, the author was ultimately able to penetrate the corruption and expose the Grand Conspiracy. The 75-page Verified Criminal Complaint in the book explains the actual written law and condemns bureau employees who unlawfully impose the penalty scam. Discover how victims are pushing back against the California FTB. Keep your liberty, rights, and property by fighting back with the words of the government’s own laws. Don’t read this book if penalty notices are welcome in your mailbox. There is a large new section on the FTB and a California criminal complaint added.

This book lays out the guidelines that we are using for our Federal Criminal Complaints. Order your copy from The Bookpatch.