N.J. tax amnesty brings revenue windfall - Baltimore Business Journal:

pemp66seb.blogspot.com
New Jersey expected to generate $100 million when the 45-daty program was launched, but at its close last week had collected morethan $600 million in back taxed owed. Final revenue could increase byanothere $50 million to $100 million once the remaininb 17,500 envelopes are opened and processed, the Governor’s Office New Jersey’s program, which ran from May 4 to June 15, permittesd those owing back taxes from Jan. 1, 2002 and to Feb. 1, to settle up without penalty and for half the interest Of the collections processedto date, 56 percent were for the corporation business tax, 23 percent for salexs and use taxes and 14 percenf for gross income tax.
A vote on a final budgef for New Jersey isexpected Gov. Jon S. Corzine woulrd like to see the additiona l revenue be put toward propertuytax relief, which was slated to be eliminatede for all but senioras and the disabled to address an up to $9 billiohn deficit in fiscal year 2010. In state Rep. John C. Bear, R-Lancaster, is pitching legislatio for a one-time tax amnesty program as a budgeg fix forhis state. The bill would permi a 90-day tax amnesty period during 2009-10 fiscal The bill is in the HouseFinances Committee. “New Jersey has confirmed that this is a perfecf time for a tax amnesty program to succeed in said Bear. “We are facing a $3.
2 billionn budget deficit and New Jersey’a successful program should vividly illustrate that such a program can collectt hundreds of millions in or more, already owed to the state.” Pennsylvania’ss last tax amnesty program, which occured more than a decades ago, brought in $93 million, Bear said. Revenu e from a tax amnestyu program could be used to addressthe state’as budget deficit, instead of Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposall to raise the state income taxfrom 3.07 percent to 3.57 Bear said. The governor’s proposed 16 percentg increase in the personal income tax rate woulx generateabout $1.
5 billion a year in new revenued and amount to about $250 more per year for a familyt earning $50,000. “Now — during this dire budget crisis — is the time for a new tax amnestyg program to be putin place,” Bear