WizardOfAz

State offering amnesty to delinquent taxpayers


Russ Wiles
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 23, 2003

Arizona next month will announce its first general tax amnesty in 20 years in hopes of wresting more revenue from individuals and businesses during an era of tight budgets.

The amnesty will cover income, sales and luxury taxes, but not estate or property levies, said Dan Zemke, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Revenue.

It's the first general amnesty since early 1983, when Arizona reaped $6 million from 10,000 taxpayers.

Arizona joins a growing list of states offering amnesties. Colorado, for example, has one in force now, and Connecticut completed one late last year.

Arizona's amnesty was authorized by lawmakers in this year's budget package. State officials don't know how many delinquent taxpayers will step forward or how much revenue they will bring.

"We don't really have a clue, because there's no good means of guessing," Zemke said. "If we knew for sure about some of these people, we would have contacted them before."

But this amnesty could be much bigger than the 1983 effort since Arizona's taxpayer base is much larger today.

Arizona periodically has implemented partial amnesties, such as a 2001 program that cut or waived penalties for people who filed returns but fell behind on their payments. That effort didn't pertain to people who failed to file in the first place. "That's what a true amnesty is," Zemke said.

Taxpayers who participate will benefit from lower or waived civil penalties and reduced interest rates. In general, the amnesty covers unpaid liabilities stretching from January 1983 through December 2001 or December 2002, depending on a taxpayer's situation.

It could apply to people who moved here from other states and didn't realize they had tax liabilities, including senior citizens unaware that Arizona taxes certain retirement income, Zemke said.

To qualify, delinquent taxpayers must submit an application and pay their tax bills plus applicable interest. At least one-third of the total must be paid by Oct. 31 and the balance by May 1, 2004. Certain taxpayers won't qualify, such as those subject to a criminal tax investigation or those with a tax bill from a completed audit.

Zemke said the department plans to announce the program formally next month

SECTION 11

Personally I like the people that bitch and moan about taxes, only to find out that they either cheat on them, or simply don't pay them.

I mean really, what's wrong with the rest of the people picking up the tab?

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