For appeal taxpayer should prepare and file a pre-trial brief or memorandum of points and authorities, in which he or she must describe relevant law and apply it to his or her case in support of appeal. Taxpayer may want to locate and interview helpful witnesses, including workers previously interviewed by EDD, principals of business and management employees.
Brotman Law
Employment Development Department Appeals
It is important to note that according to Unemployment Insurance Code (“UIC”) Section 1735, an officer, owner or any person in charge of affairs of any corporation, LLC or LLP, is personally liable for the amount of the contributions, withholdings, penalties, and interest unpaid by business entity, if business entity willfully fails to pay the amount. Assessments become delinquent if not paid before they become final, and subject to a penalty of 10%. UIC Section 1135. Sections 1222 and 1224 provide that assessments become final (and delinquent) after 30 days from an assessment date, or if taxpayer petitions or appeals assessment, within 30 days of an Administrative Law Judge or Appeals Board decision date. Therefore, filing an appeal generally extends time to pay tax.
Conclusions about CRA and Dodd-Frank
The success or failure of the Dodd-Frank Act will be ultimately judged by history and the impact that it has with combatting some of the problems that have existed with credit rating agencies both before and after the financial crisis of 2008. Already critics have been quick to condemn the act for the perceived over burden that it places on the credit rating agencies or for what others feel is too little regulation that does too little to prevent the evils of the past four decades. Through the research and analysis involved with paper, however, we have come to several conclusions about how the law can be made more effective or where potential shortcomings exist despite its overall intent to promote fairer dealing and more transparency among the agencies.
Consequences for Non-Compliance of Dodd-Frank
Consequences for Non-Compliance of the Law
Rules for Credit Rating Agencies
Additional Rules for Credit Rating Agencies Under the Dodd-Frank Act
Conflicts of Interest and Credit Rating Agencies
Effects of the Dodd-Frank Act on Conflicts of Interest
In addition to administering rating and disclosure rules, The Dodd-Frank Act also imposes several requirements on NRSROs to establish internal control systems that prevents conflicts of interest. The bill’s drafters made it a priority to put certain guidelines in place in order to mitigate the temptation toward favoritism within the rating agencies. Without the conflicts, or with the proper steps to mitigate them, the rationale is that more certainty would exist about the objectivity of the ratings.
Dodd-Frank and Credit Rating Agencies
Addressing Credit Rating Agencies Through Enactment of Dodd-Frank
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) was passed and signed into on July 21, 2010. A small part of this act addressed credit rating agencies and their past practices. The act intends to (1) remove references in statutes and regulations to Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (“NRSROs”), (2) create a new office of credit ratings, (3) to expand conditions that deal with conflicts of interest that may exist both inside the credit rating agencies and with the issuers and underwriters that they deal with, (4) promote rules for better internal governance and control, (5) define new requirements for the board of directors, and (6) institute harsher consequences for non-compliance with the law. [1]
Issues Affecting Credit Rating Agencies
Competency, Trustworthiness of Ratings, and Conflicts of Interest
Credit rating agencies have not been held accountable for their ratings. Meaning, an inaccurate rating brings no repercussion to these agencies. If one is not held accountable for their actions, logically there is less incentive to perform well or even at a high standard.
These agencies knew their services were needed under government recommendation yet they were not held to a standard which required the utmost diligence and scrutiny to measure the accuracy of their ratings (15 Chap. L. Rev. 138). This type of attitude towards the agencies allowed the agencies to become comfortable with their existing practices and did not encourage any improvements in the methods these agencies used to rate the instruments.
Credit Rating Agencies – Part One
What is a Credit Rating Agency and What Task Does it Perform?
Since 1931, the United States government has encouraged or even required certain types of investors to use financial instruments or securities that have been rated high by rating agencies (15 Chap. L. Rev. 139). These agencies use available financial data, economic conditions, and various other factors to determine the strength of a particular firm, security, or instrument offered on the market. Logically, no rational investor would choose to use a financial instrument that possessed primarily bad qualities. The market should realize these bad qualities and the price of this instrument should decrease accordingly.
The credit rating agencies provide ratings which investors are advised or even required to rely on when investing in certain financial instruments. These ratings are intended to provide the investor with an accurate picture toward the quality of the financial instrument without having to do the tedious homework required to determine if credit rating given by an agency is in fact an accurate rating. Under this logic, in comparison to the average individual investor, shouldn’t a credit rating agency be more qualified and have more information to provide the most accurate credit ratings available?
Innocent Spouse Relief & Actual Knowledge
Innocent Spouse Relief
This is the most commonly known form of relief, which can absolves a taxpayer from liability if their spouse or former spouse either did not report income, made an error in the calculation of income, or misapplied any deductions or credits that they were not entitled to.[1] Innocent Spouse Relief relieves a person of any tax, interest, and penalties associated with the account based on the preceding errors. However, the taxpayers are still held jointly and severally liable for any amounts that are not granted innocent spouse relief. The following requirements must be met in order for innocent spouse relief to be granted.