When signing, please remember that it is important to complete all the areas of the “Declaration by Assessee” in order to validate a signature.
The declaration must be signed by either the assessee/owner, a duly appointed fiduciary, or a person authorized to sign on behalf of the assessee such as: a member of the bar, a certified public accountant, a public accountant, an enrolled agent, a partner, corporate officer, LLC manager or managing member, or other person as defined by the State of California Board of Equalization.
In the case of a corporation: the declaration can be signed by an authorized employee or agent who has been designated to sign on behalf of the corporation, by the Board of Directors, by name or by title, only if a valid Agency Authorization has been filed with the Assessor.
In the case of a partnership, the declaration can be signed by an authorized employee or agent who has been designated to sign on behalf of the partnership, by name or by title, only if a valid Agency Authorization has been filed with the Assessor.
In the case of a Limited Liability Company (LLC), the declaration can be signed by an authorized employee or agent who has been designated to sign on behalf of the LLC manager or by the members, by name or by title, only if a valid Agency Authorization has been filed with the Assessor.
When a declaration is signed by an employee or agent, other than a member of the bar, a certified public accountant, a public accountant, an enrolled agent or a duly appointed fiduciary, the assessee’s written Agency Authorization form to authorize the employee or agent to sign the declaration on behalf of the Assessee must be filed with the Assessor. The Assessor may at any time require a person who signs a property statement and who is required to have written authorization to provide proof of authorization.
A Business Property Statement that is not signed and executed in accordance with the foregoing instructions is not considered a valid filing. The penalty imposed by section 463 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code for failure to file is applicable to non-valid or unsigned Business Property Statements.