There was a recent court case where a taxpayer lost deductions because they couldn't prove they paid them.  

So essentially the tax payers footed the bill..

An identification number for a U.S. person is a taxpayer identification number (TIN) (or evidence of an application for one), and an identification number for a non-U.S. person is one or more of the following: a TIN; a passport number and country of issuance; an alien identification card number; or a number and country of issuance of any other unexpired government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard.

The story you hear about California is true for California residents, but not true for the taxpayer that lives in another state but invests in CA.