The California Franchise Tax Board has announced the resumption
of the tax refund intercept program will begin
on August 1, 2021. CalTRECS, a CSAC Finance Corporation
debt offset program, can aid counties and municipalities in
refund-intercept for revenue recovery.
Refund intercept programs are beneficial for Counties and
consumers in several ways:
First, there is no reporting to credit agencies unlike most.
Therefore, a person who cannot pay their debts is not affected
negatively on their credit score.
Second, debts can be fully satisfied without any action on
the part of the debtor.
Third, the debt is only paid when there is a revenue event
available for intercept.
Fourth, tax-refund intercept programs can be used as an
alternative to tax sale, suspension of utilities, wage/bank
account garnishment, license plate withholdings, or utilization
of a private collection agency that may charge higher collection
fees.
It is important to note that all tax-refund intercept programs
across the country require giving ample notice and due process to
allow the debtor to come in, contest or appeal a debt, set
up an installment plan, or make another arrangement with the
claimant agency prior to refund intercept.
Most of the time, the debts going through the state intercept
programs have been delinquent for many years, the debtor has been
noticed on more than one occasion, and perhaps the claimant
agency has even gone through other collection mechanisms that
have not succeeded in collecting on the debt.
For more information, or for interest in participating in
CalTRECS, please reach out to Jim
Manker, with the CSAC Finance Corporation.
