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Yesterday I got a nastygram from the Franchise Tax Board of California, saying that "recent adjustments to my account" (with no further explanation) meant that I owed them seventeen hundred dollars and that if I didn't pay by May 23 I was subject to stuff like property liens.
Lovely.
It did include a phone number, but when the phone lines get too backed up over there, they don't put you in the queue. They tell you to try again later.
Especially lovely.
So I've been trying every fifteen minutes, all morning. Apparently when the wait gets down to 35 minutes or so they allow you to stay on the phone. At least their hold music is energetic and fun.
It turns out that the bill went out before my check posted. (Oops.) And that there are lots and lots of people in this situation (oops) which is why if you're in this situation you can't call them (oops). The person on the phone apologized for the trouble.
Anyhow, California residents, if you get a nastygram like this, pull out your tax return and total up all the numbers you actually paid and the number the nastygram says you paid. If the difference is the check you sent, you might not need to have a heart attack just yet, and you can let yourself be cheered up by the hold music when you call.
I hate tax scares. Thanks, state government, for scaring me and for wiping out my morning.
Lovely.
It did include a phone number, but when the phone lines get too backed up over there, they don't put you in the queue. They tell you to try again later.
Especially lovely.
So I've been trying every fifteen minutes, all morning. Apparently when the wait gets down to 35 minutes or so they allow you to stay on the phone. At least their hold music is energetic and fun.
It turns out that the bill went out before my check posted. (Oops.) And that there are lots and lots of people in this situation (oops) which is why if you're in this situation you can't call them (oops). The person on the phone apologized for the trouble.
Anyhow, California residents, if you get a nastygram like this, pull out your tax return and total up all the numbers you actually paid and the number the nastygram says you paid. If the difference is the check you sent, you might not need to have a heart attack just yet, and you can let yourself be cheered up by the hold music when you call.
I hate tax scares. Thanks, state government, for scaring me and for wiping out my morning.
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