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Oakland Shipping Company Named Among State's Worst Tax Deadbeats

OAKLAND (CBS) - California is being cheated out of millions of tax dollars by deadbeats who don't pay their bills, according to a new list revealed Friday by the Board of Equalization.

The list includes 500 businesses that owe collectively more than $555 million – missing money that could have had a direct impact on education, by providing funding for more than 78,000 students in grades K–12.

Several Bay Area companies made the list, including overall #2 offender C&JD USA, Inc., which owes $16.6 million. The Oakland-based shipping container company missed the top spot, held by California Target Enterprises Inc., by less than $2 Million.

"All of these businesses or taxpayers that are on this list have failed to pay their taxes and all of them owe more than $100,000 to the state of California," said Jaime Garza, a spokesman for the Board of Equalization.

California has already placed tax liens on those businesses to capture lost money. In July, state agencies will roll out a new weapon – a law allowing them to refuse or revoke drivers' licenses, occupational licenses, contractors' licenses to these companies hoping that might create another incentive to get them to pay.

Shaming the businesses by publicly disclosing the top delinquents has also been effective. The Board of Equalization has received $5.3 million from 40 taxpayers whose names were posted on the Internet.

See the full list on the Board of Equalization website.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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