Income taxation: timeliness penalty: abatement.

Existing law imposes penalties when a taxpayer fails to timely file an income tax return or fails to timely pay the tax due as shown on, or as required to be shown on, the tax return, unless it is shown that the failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. This bill, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2018, would require the Franchise Tax Board, upon request by an individual taxpayer, to abate a failure-to-file or failure-to-pay timeliness penalty if the taxpayer was not previously required to file a California personal income tax return or the Franchise Tax Board has not imposed a timeliness penalty in the year of the request or prior 4 years, the taxpayer has filed all required returns as of the date of the request for abatement, and the taxpayer has paid, or is in a current arrangement to pay, all tax currently due.