State Controller John Chiang has directed the Franchise Tax Board to stop sending requests for tax refund payments to the Controller’s office as of the end of business Jan. 27. The move affects all corporate, bank and personal State tax refunds. The refund requests will be held until such time as a budget has been passed ensuring there is money to pay them. Last year, approximately $2 billion in tax refunds were processed in the month of February, said Jacob Roper, spokesperson for the Controller. “Right now the Controller is looking at delaying the payments for 30 days, but he may have to look at a longer timeframe if the legislature and governor don’t come to a budget decision by then,” added Roper. The majority of refunds are paid between February and May, he said, “so this is hitting at a very unfortunate time.”
