California Panel Can Review Case Despite Erroneous Refund Check

A mistake by the California Franchise Tax Board doesn’t nullify the Office of Tax Appeals’ jurisdiction over an existing abatement claim, the office ruled in an opinion released Monday.

Todd and Shelley Leebow had fully paid all taxes, penalties, and interest due when they filed their refund claim with the agency in September 2023. “FTB’s issuance of an erroneous refund check thereafter, on November 21, 2023, does not retroactively negate the fact that appellants filed a perfected claim for refund which was denied by FTB on its merits,” Administrative Law Judge Teresa A. Stanley wrote in an opinion marked pending ...