Retailers from Lake Tahoe to the Bay Area, and from the coastal cities of Southern California to Lake Perris, are receiving letters from the California State Board of Equalization notifying them about upcoming visits from Statewide Compliance and Outreach Program teams.

SCOP visits are intended to educate retailers about properly reporting sales and use tax, increase compliance with tax laws, and maintain outreach efforts to assure taxpayers the state’s tax system is fair and equal for all Californians.

Regionally, the BOE is mailing letters to business owners in the following ZIP codes: Auburn (95602 and 95604), Colfax (95713), Dutch Flat (95714), Emigrant Gap (95715), Foresthill (95631), Gold Run (95717), Kings Beach (96143), Meadow Vista (95722), Olympic Valley (96146), and Tahoe Vista (96148), and Weimar (95736).

Businesses found to be operating without a seller’s permit are provided instructions on how to register with the BOE, as well as information about other necessary licenses. Home-based businesses are not visited.

The BOE has found that nearly 98 percent of the California businesses are operating with the correct permits. However, noncompliance contributes to more than $2 billion in uncollected sales and use taxes that make up part of the state’s “tax gap” – the difference between the amount of taxes owed and the amount paid, negatively impacting all state taxpayers.