A covid-19-induced tax revenue shortfall in California may boost efforts to expand the state’s False Claims Act provisions to include tax fraud matters. Phillips & Cohen partner Claire Sylvia underscores the unique pressures of the moment in speaking with Law360.
Officials in California have long discussed emulating New York, and now is the time, said Claire M. Sylvia of Phillips & Cohen LLP in San Francisco. Sylvia, author of a treatise on the False Claims Act and fraud against the government, said California had a well-crafted bill that could make a significant difference to the budget and to its ability to combat fraud. She said she thought state legislators would recognize that, too.
“I think now is a unique moment when the state is really needing revenue because of all the expenditures and all the difficulties of meeting the budget, and this law is really designed to have people who owe taxes pay them,” Sylvia told Law360. “I do think this is a different moment than the last time this came up.”
Read the entire article, “COVID-19 Revenue Hit May Bode Well For Calif. FCA Tax Law,” on Law360’s website (subscription required).