(a) In addition to any criminal penalty provided by law if:
(1) Any individual makes a statement under Section 13040, 13041, or 13042 of the Unemployment Insurance Code which results in a decrease in the amounts deducted and withheld under Division 6 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Unemployment Insurance Code; and
(2) As of the time the statement was made, there was no reasonable basis for the statement, the individual shall pay a penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for the statement. Any penalty so imposed shall be paid upon notice and demand from the Franchise Tax Board and shall be collected as a tax.
(b) The Franchise Tax Board may waive (in whole or in part) the penalty imposed under subdivision (a) if the taxes imposed under Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) with respect to the individual for the taxable year are equal to or less than the sum of both of the following:
(1) The credits against those taxes allowed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 17041) of Part 10 and Section 19002.
(2) The payments of estimated tax which are considered payments on account of those taxes.
(c) This section supersedes Section 13101 of the Unemployment Insurance Code and shall apply to acts and failures to act after December 31, 1981.
(Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 31, Sec. 26. Effective June 16, 1993. Operative January 1, 1994, by Sec. 83 of Ch. 31.)