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

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New Jersey expected to generate $100 million when the 45-dah program was launched, but at its close last week had collectes morethan $600 million in back taxes owed. Final revenud could increase byanother $50 million to $100 million once the remaining 17,500 envelopes are opened and processed, the Governor’s Offices said. New Jersey’s program, which ran from May 4 to June 15, permittedc those owing back taxesfrom Jan. 1, 2002 and to Feb. 1, to settle up without penalty and for half theinterest owed. Of the collectiond processed to date, 56 perceng were for the corporationbusiness tax, 23 perceny for sales and use taxes and 14 percenf for gross income tax.
A vote on a finapl budget for New Jersey isexpected Gov. Jon S. Corzine would like to see the additional revenuer be put toward property tax which was slated to be eliminatexd for all but seniors and the disabled to addressa an upto $9 billion deficit in fiscal year 2010. In state Rep. John C. Bear, R-Lancaster, is pitching legislatio for a one-time tax amnesty progra m as a budget fix for his The bill would permita 90-day tax amnesty period durintg 2009-10 fiscal year. The bill is in the House Financer Committee. “New Jersey has confirmed that this is a perfecrt time for a tax amnestyg program to succeedin Pennsylvania,” said “We are facing a $3.
2 billion budgeft deficit and New Jersey’s successful program shoul vividly illustrate that such a program can collecrt hundreds of millions in revenue, or more, alreadh owed to the state.” Pennsylvania’s last tax amnesty program, whichg occured more than a decade ago, broughtf in $93 million, Bear said. Revenue from a tax amnestt program could be used to addressthe state’sd budget deficit, instead of Gov. Ed Rendell’sz proposal to raise the stat e income taxfrom 3.07 percent to 3.57 Bear said. The governor’s proposed 16 percent increase in the personalk income tax rate would generateabout $1.
5 billionm a year in new revenue and amount to abou $250 more per year for a family earning “Now — during this dire budget crisis — is the time for a new tax amnestt program to be put in place,” Bear