I contacted them with my argument that I'm retired and just receiving royalty money. It seems to take them at least 3 working days to respond to emails. Meanwhile, my late penalties go up in 4 working days, if I'm deemed to still be 'in business' and don't pay up. It's catch-22.
They say that you "must cancel your City of Los Angeles' Tax Registration Certificate by sending a letter OR by completing a Taxpayer Information Update Form". I hope they don't have some Draconian rule whereby it's only considered 'canceled' if you do so before the 2023 tax year or by the end of the 2023 tax year.
Also, I wonder if they consider having a promotional website as being 'in business'. For example, a musician or actor with a website promoting their old work and maybe with external links to where fans can buy their work on Amazon.
