Was the section 6476 prepayment penalty measured by the required prepayment or the larger advance payment actually made?

Plain-English summary

After discussing an absent October 5, 1966 memorandum with W. T. Denny, E. H. Stetson concluded that the penalty under Revenue and Taxation Code section 6476 was calculated only on the amount the taxpayer was required to prepay.

The penalty did not expand to the amount of an advance payment actually made if that amount differed from the statutory prepayment requirement. The source supplies no requester, taxpayer, figures, dates, return, calculation, adoption, assessment, claim, appeal, or later outcome.

The live annotation publishes the same conclusion but silently regularizes the supporting memorandum's printed “penalty provide” wording and omits the request and internal-discussion provenance.

Common questions

Did the memorandum state the required prepayment amount or penalty rate?

No. It addressed only which amount formed the penalty base.

Citations and references

• California Revenue and Taxation Code section 6476 — interpreted for the penalty base; complete text, definitions, required amount, rate, due date, conditions, relief, amendments, later history, and current law not supplied
• October 5 request and November 16, 1966 response — no request, account facts, amounts, dates, return, computation, agency adoption, assessment, taxpayer communication, payment, claim, appeal, or later outcome supplied
• Official Annotation 320.0160's penalty-base conclusion and date — silently regularizes printed wording and omits the provenance, named staff, missing records, adoption status, later outcome, and reliance status and supplies no additional account record

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/annotations-menu.htm
• Annotation page: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol2/suta/320-0000-all.html
• Original supporting opinion: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/annotations/320-0160.pdf

Original ruling text

State of California

Board of Equalization

Memorandum

To:

From:

E. H. Stetson

Subject:

Prepayment Penalty

320.0160

Date:

November 16, 1966

I have discussed your memorandum of October 5, 1966, with Mr. Denny. We are in agreement
that the proper interpretation of §6476 is that the penalty provide for therein applies only to the
amount for which a prepayment is required, not the amount of advance payment actually made.

EHS:fb
cc: Mr. W. T. Denny