Tax amnesty program falls $2M short
A tax amnesty program budgeted to add $10 million to the state's coffers fell nearly $2 million short of its expected goal, state revenue officials say.
The program, which encouraged individuals and businesses to pay back taxes by nearly eliminating penalties owed, brought in $8.1 million by the time it ended on Nov. 30, Jerome Gerard, acting executive director of Maine Revenue Services, told Capitol News Service. Nearly a quarter of that amount was paid by one business that Gerard did not name. The 2020 Tax Receivables Reduction Initiative waived 95% of penalties owed for tax debts fewer than five years old, and those owing debt older than five years also saw 95% of interest waived. Prior to this year's amnesty program, the state was owed $257 million in taxes, penalties and interest. Gerard said Maine Revenue Services will spend several weeks analyzing the payments received for the 2010 amnesty program.
Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, chairman of the appropriations committee, told the news service the measure's performance did not surprise him because it fell too close to a similar amnesty program in 2009. That program brought in $16.2 million, well above the projected $9 million.
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