February 13, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Los Angeles Business License Tax Review Now Open for Public Comment.
Los Angeles, California -- Ryan & Company, the leading independent
provider of state and local tax services in the United States, is pleased
to announce that the City of Los Angeles business license tax review has
been completed and is now open for comment.
Ryan & Company was chosen last April as tax advisor to the service team
selected by the City of Los Angeles Office of Finance, Tax & Permit Division,
to review alternatives to the Los Angeles Business License Tax. The service
team was headed by MBIA MuniServices Company, with Burr Consulting taking
the lead economic advisory role.
"The MBIA report is just one piece in the overall tax reform blueprint
that BTAC has studied over its 5-year effort. Since its inception, BTAC
has developed several recommendations that have been enacted into law
including: incentives to attract new small businesses, establishment of
a City Tax Settlement Bureau, and development of the TAPS 2000 program,"
says City of Los Angeles Business Tax Advisory Committee (BTAC) Chairperson
Mel Kohn. "BTAC looks forward to reviewing MBIA's recommendations over
the next several weeks.
The MBIA report cost approximately $420,000 and was funded in its entirety
from the City's Tax Reform Trust Fund, monies generated through tax discovery
from AB 63 and the City's Business Tax Amnesty Program. By ordinance,
these monies are earmarked for business tax reform and cannot be used
for City general budget purposes. The information from the MBIA report
will be used to achieve an improved business tax system for the City and
to develop recommendations on any possible alternatives to the City's
gross receipts tax.
"We were honored to serve as tax advisor on this project. This recognition
by an important taxing agency reaffirms that Ryan & Company is one of
the most respected providers of state and local tax services in the country."
Rich Carlson, Principal in Charge of the Los Angeles, California office,
said. "We appreciate the City of Los Angeles' vote of confidence."
Ryan & Company's project team included the original project team that
crafted the 1997 study analyzing the Competitiveness of City Taxes and
Fees, where the City of Los Angeles was compared to its competitive cities
and various approaches were considered to improve the then current tax
environment. These original team members are all at Ryan & Company and
have been working on this project. In fact, the team members have over
50 years' combined transaction tax experience.
About Ryan & Company
Ryan & Company is America's largest independent state and local tax consulting
firm. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the firm provides a comprehensive
range of state and local tax services on a multistate basis, including
audit defense, tax recovery, tax decision automation, dispute resolution,
and strategic planning. With more than 325 professionals and associates
in 14 locations throughout the United States, Ryan & Company serves many
of the world's most prominent Fortune 1000 companies.
PRESS INFORMATION CONTACT:
G. Brint Ryan
Ryan & Company, Inc.
972.934.0022
brint.ryan@ryanco.com
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