SACRAMENTO . (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has named a former chief of staff for the U.S. Small Business Administration to head a newly created California agency tasked with collecting roughly $60 billion in sales, tobacco, gas and dozens of other taxes.
Democrat Nicolas Maduros is the nominee to lead the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The agency is taking over the responsibility for roughly 30 taxes and fees from the troubled Board of Equalization. Lawmakers voted to strip the board’s power after a scathing audit.
The new department began operating July 1, just weeks after Brown signed legislation creating it.
Maduros, an attorney, will make $190,000 a year if confirmed by the Senate. That’s more than most statewide elected officials. The tax board’s five members each make $142,000.