West Hollywood Businesses Owe the State $1 Mil-Plus

By Renee Schiavone

Two West Hollywood businesses are in hot water with the state, which has resorted to publicly listing their names in a database of the worst tax offenders.
The businesses may be related as they share the same address. 

On Tuesday, the California State Board of Equalization updated its online list of the Top 500 sales and use tax delinquencies-- a list which totals $514.9 million in taxes through the first quarter of 2014.

West Hollywood businesses named on the list are: 

• JMG Restaurant II LLC, 665 N Robertson Blvd., owes $914,112.89
• Jeffrey Gossett, 665 N Robertson Blvd., owes $774,810.31

According to the BOE, these businesses are notified 30 days before their information is posted.  The agency does not name those who are working on a payment arrangement of some sort, or are in bankruptcy, litigation, or appeal phases.
"Since the inception of this program in 2007, the BOE has received $10.21 million from 121 qualifying taxpayers who came forward to pay their debts; 100 are making installment payments, and 21 have paid their debt in full," a press release from the BOE said Tuesday.

Of the hundreds of millions of dollars owed to California, $114.3 million are jointly owed liabilities.

"This means individuals associated with a corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited liability company might be personally responsible for delinquent taxes," the BOE said.

This quarter alone, 44 taxpayers were added to the state's delinquent list. Together, they owe $41.4 million.