SECTIONS 706.070-706.084 - California Statutes

CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

SECTION 706.070-706.084

706.070. As used in this article:
(a) "State" means the State of California and includes any
officer, department, board, or agency thereof.
(b) "State tax liability" means an amount for which the state has
a state tax lien as defined in Section 7162 of the Government Code
excluding a state tax lien created pursuant to the Fish and Game
Code.

706.071. This chapter does not limit the state's right to collect a
state tax liability except that (a) no levy upon earnings of an
employee held by an employer is effective unless such levy is made in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter and (b) other methods
of collection may not be used to require an employer to withhold
earnings of an employee in payment of a state tax liability.

706.072. (a) A "withholding order for taxes" is an earnings
withholding order issued pursuant to this article to collect a state
tax liability and shall be denoted as a withholding order for taxes
on its face.
(b) A withholding order for taxes may only be issued under one of
the following circumstances:
(1) The existence of the state tax liability appears on the face
of the taxpayer's return, including a case where such tax liability
is disclosed from the taxpayer's return after errors in mathematical
computations in the return have been corrected.
(2) The state tax liability has been assessed or determined as
provided by statute and the taxpayer had notice of the proposed
assessment or determination and had available an opportunity to have
the proposed assessment or determination reviewed by appropriate
administrative procedures. If the taxpayer makes a timely request for
review of the assessment or determination, the state shall not issue
a withholding order for taxes until the administrative review
procedure is completed. If the taxpayer is given notice of the
proposed assessment or determination but does not make a timely
request for review, the state may issue a withholding order for
taxes.
(c) In any case where a state tax liability has been assessed or
determined prior to July 1, 1983, and the state determines that the
requirement of subdivision (b) may not have been satisfied, the state
may send a "Notice of Proposed Issuance of Withholding Order for
Taxes" to the taxpayer at the taxpayer's last known address by
first-class mail, postage prepaid. The notice shall advise the
taxpayer that the taxpayer may have the assessment or determination
reviewed by appropriate administrative procedures and state how such
a review may be obtained. If the taxpayer is sent such a notice and
requests such a review within 30 days from the date the notice was
mailed to the taxpayer, the state shall provide appropriate
administrative procedures for review of the assessment or
determination and shall not issue the withholding order for taxes
until the administrative review procedure is completed. If the
taxpayer is sent such a notice and does not request such a review
within 30 days from the date the notice was mailed to the taxpayer,
the state may issue the withholding order for taxes.
(d) A withholding order for taxes may be issued whether or not the
state tax liability has been reduced to judgment.

706.073. Except as otherwise provided in this article, the
provisions of this chapter govern the procedures and proceedings
concerning a withholding order for taxes. For the purposes of this
article, a reference in this chapter to a "levying officer" shall be
deemed to mean the specific state agency seeking to collect a state
tax liability under this article.

706.074. (a) The state may itself issue a withholding order for
taxes under this section to collect a state tax liability. The order
shall specify the total amount required to be withheld pursuant to
the order (unpaid tax liability including any penalties, accrued
interest, and costs).
(b) Unless a lesser amount is specified in the order, the amount
to be withheld by the employer each pay period pursuant to an order
issued under this section is the amount required to be withheld under
Section 1673(a) of Title 15 of the United States Code, and is not
subject to the exception provided in Section 1673(b) of Title 15 of
the United States Code.

706.075. (a) This section applies to any withholding order for
taxes issued under this article.
(b) Together with the withholding order for taxes, the state shall
serve upon the employer an additional copy of the order and a notice
informing the taxpayer of the effect of the order and of his right
to hearings and remedies provided in this chapter. Within 10 days
from the date of service, the employer shall deliver to the taxpayer
a copy of the order and the notice, except that immediate delivery
shall be made where a jeopardy withholding order for taxes has been
served. If the taxpayer is no longer employed by the employer and the
employer does not owe the taxpayer any earnings, the employer is not
required to make such delivery.
(c) The state shall provide for an administrative hearing to
reconsider or modify the amount to be withheld pursuant to the
withholding order for taxes, and the taxpayer may request such a
hearing at any time after service of the order. If the taxpayer
requests a hearing, the hearing shall be provided, and the matter
shall be determined, within 15 days after the request is received by
the state. The determination of the amount to be withheld is subject
to the standard provided in subdivision (b) of Section 706.051.
Judicial review of the determination made pursuant to this
subdivision by the state may be had only if a petition for a writ of
mandate pursuant to Section 1094.5 is filed within 90 days from the
date that written notice of the state's determination was delivered
or mailed to the taxpayer.
(d) The employer is not subject to any civil liability for failure
to comply with subdivision (b). Nothing in this subdivision limits
the power of a court to hold the employer in contempt of court for
failure to comply with subdivision (b).

706.076. (a) A withholding order for taxes may be issued pursuant
to this section requiring the employer of the taxpayer to withhold an
amount in excess of the amount that may be required to be withheld
pursuant to an order issued under Section 706.074.
(b) The state may, at any time, apply to a court of record in the
county where the taxpayer was last known to reside for the issuance
of a withholding order for taxes under this section to collect a
state tax liability.
(c) The application for the order shall include a statement under
oath that the state has served upon the taxpayer both of the
following:
(1) A copy of the application.
(2) A notice informing the taxpayer of the purpose of the
application and the right of the taxpayer to appear at the court
hearing on the application.
(d) Upon the filing of the application, the court shall
immediately set the matter for hearing and the court clerk shall send
a notice of the time and place of the hearing by first-class mail,
postage prepaid, to the state and the taxpayer. The notice shall be
deposited in the mail at least 10 days before the day set for the
hearing.
(e) After hearing, the court shall issue a withholding order for
taxes which shall require the taxpayer's employer to withhold and pay
over all earnings of the taxpayer other than that amount which the
taxpayer proves is exempt under subdivision (b) of Section 706.051,
but in no event shall the amount to be withheld be less than that
permitted to be withheld under Section 706.050.
(f) The state may issue a temporary earnings holding order, which
shall be denoted as such on its face, in any case where the state
intends to apply for a withholding order for taxes under this section
and has determined that the collection of the state tax liability
will be jeopardized in whole or in part if the temporary earnings
holding order is not issued. The temporary earnings holding order
shall be directed to the taxpayer's employer and shall require the
employer to retain in the employer's possession or under the employer'
s control all or such portion of the earnings of the taxpayer then or
thereafter due as is specified in the order. Together with the
temporary earnings holding order, the state shall serve upon the
employer an additional copy of the order and a notice informing the
taxpayer of the effect of the order and of the right to the remedies
provided in this chapter. Upon receipt of the order, the employer
shall deliver to the taxpayer a copy of the order and notice. If the
taxpayer is no longer employed by the employer and the employer does
not owe the taxpayer any earnings, the employer is not required to
make such delivery. The temporary earnings holding order expires 15
days from the date it is served on the employer unless it is extended
by the court on ex parte application for good cause shown. If a
temporary earnings holding order is served on an employer, the state
may not thereafter, for a period of six months, serve on the same
employer another temporary earnings holding order for the same
employee unless the court for good cause shown otherwise orders.
Sections 706.153 and 706.154 apply to temporary earnings holding
orders issued under this section.

706.077. (a) Subject to subdivision (b), an employer upon whom a
withholding order for taxes is served shall withhold and pay over
earnings of the employee pursuant to such order and shall cease to
withhold earnings pursuant to any prior earnings withholding order
except that a withholding order for support shall be given priority
as provided in Section 706.030. When an employer is required to cease
withholding earnings pursuant to an earlier earnings withholding
order, the employer shall notify the levying officer who served the
earlier earnings withholding order that a supervening withholding
order for taxes is in effect.
(b) An employer shall not withhold earnings of an employee
pursuant to a withholding order for taxes if a prior withholding
order for taxes is in effect, and, in such case, the subsequent
withholding order for taxes is ineffective.

706.078. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the employer
shall not withhold pursuant to a withholding order for taxes from
earnings of the employee payable for any pay period of such employee
that ends prior to the 10th day after service of the order.
(b) A "jeopardy withholding order for taxes," which shall be
denoted as such on its face, is a withholding order for taxes that
requires that the employer withhold pursuant to the order from
earnings due to the employee at the time of service of the order on
the employer and from earnings thereafter due. A jeopardy withholding
order for taxes may be issued only where the state has determined
that the collection of a state tax liability will be jeopardized in
whole or in part by delaying the time when withholding from earnings
commences.
(c) An employer shall continue to withhold pursuant to a
withholding order for taxes until the amount specified in the order
has been paid in full or the order is withdrawn, except that the
order automatically terminates one year after the employment of the
employee by the employer terminates. The state shall promptly serve
on the employer a notice terminating the withholding order for taxes
if the state tax liability for which the withholding order for taxes
was issued is satisfied before the employer has withheld the full
amount specified in the order, and the employer shall discontinue
withholding in compliance with such notice.

706.080. Service of a withholding order for taxes or of any other
notice or document required under this chapter in connection with a
withholding order for taxes may be made by the state by first-class
mail, postage prepaid, or by any authorized state employee. Service
of a withholding order for taxes is complete when it is received by
the employer or a person described in paragraph (1) or (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 706.101. Service of, or the providing of,
any other notice or document required to be served or provided under
this chapter in connection with a withholding order for taxes is
complete when the notice or document is deposited in the mail
addressed to the last known address of the person on whom it is
served or to whom it is to be provided.

706.081. Except for the forms referred to in Section 706.076, the
state shall prescribe the form of any order, notice, or other
document required by this chapter in connection with a withholding
order for taxes notwithstanding Sections 706.100 and 706.120, and any
form so prescribed is deemed to comply with this chapter.

706.082. No review of the taxpayer's tax liability shall be
permitted in any court proceedings under this chapter.

706.084. Where a warrant, notice of levy, or notice or order to
withhold is served on the employer to enforce a state tax liability
of a person who is an employee of that employer, it shall be deemed
to be a withholding order for taxes as to any earnings that are
subject to the provisions of this chapter if both of the following
requirements are satisfied:
(a) The form provides notice on its face that it is to be treated
as a withholding order for taxes as to any earnings that are subject
to the provisions of this chapter.
(b) The form provides all the information provided in a
withholding order for taxes.