Massachusetts Department of Revenue Reveals Terms of Limited Tax Amnesty Program
| Massachusetts Department of Revenue Reveals Terms of Limited Tax Amnesty Program |
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The Commissioner has established a 2-month amnesty period commencing on March 1, 2009 and ending on April 30, 2009 to encourage the payment of delinquent tax obligations to Massachusetts. The amnesty program will apply to tax years ending on or before December 31, 2007 and is limited to individuals with existing personal income, use, and cigarette excise tax liabilities. The Commissioner will notify taxpayers of their eligibility to participate in the amnesty program and only those taxpayers who are notified will be eligible. (Massachusetts Technical Information Release 09-3, 02/19/2009). Scope. Under the amnesty program, the Commissioner has authority to waive all unpaid penalties for failure to timely file a return, failure to file a proper return, failure to timely pay a tax liability, and failure to pay the proper amount of any required estimated tax payments when a taxpayer who has been notified by the Commissioner that he or she is eligible pays the full amount of tax and interest due for any period shown on the “Tax Amnesty Notice.” When an eligible taxpayer pays the full outstanding balance of tax and interest with respect to previously filed returns or assessments, the Commissioner will waive the unpaid penalties and interest directly attributable to those penalties as to that taxpayer for those tax periods. Penalties that have been assessed or that could be assessed by the Commissioner against a taxpayer for liabilities relating to any other tax types are not eligible for waiver under the amnesty program. The amnesty program applies to liabilities for the noted tax types for taxable years or periods ending on or before December 31, 2007. Amnesty period. The Commissioner has established the Amnesty Period to begin on March 1, 2009 and end on April 30, 2009. Eligible taxpayers. The amnesty program is open to individual taxpayers who have been issued a “Tax Amnesty Notice” and have an unpaid and previously self-assessed tax liability for personal income tax, personal use tax and/or cigarette excise (pertaining to purchases for individual consumption), or have been previously assessed a tax liability for personal income tax, personal use tax and/or cigarette excise (pertaining to purchases for individual consumption) by the Commissioner and are properly disputing the unpaid liability or are delinquent in paying the liability. Individuals who have entered into a Payment Agreement with the Department prior to the start of the amnesty period with respect to qualifying tax types and periods are eligible to participate in the amnesty program. The Commissioner will waive eligible penalties associated with any period on the “Tax Amnesty Notice” on which tax and interest is paid in full by the April 30, 2009 deadline. The Commissioner will not waive any penalties associated with the tax liability covered by the Payment Agreement that have already been paid with past installment payments made in accordance with the provisions of the Payment Agreement. Any taxpayer who has an appeal pending with respect to an assessment made by the Commissioner for an applicable tax type and period is eligible for participation in the amnesty program if the taxpayer has been issued a “Tax Amnesty Notice” and timely pays all taxes and interest owed in full. Payment of the outstanding liability does not constitute a forfeiture of statutory rights of appeal or an admission of liability for the disputed assessment. Ineligible taxpayers. The amnesty program is not available to taxpayers who, prior to March 1, 2009 were the subject of a tax-related criminal prosecution or investigation, taxpayers who have signed a settlement agreement with the Commissioner for the tax periods covered by the settlement agreement including, without limitation, any settlement reached through the Department's Litigation Bureau, Office of Appeals or Offer-in- Settlement Unit, and to taxpayers who have paid all tax and interest due relating to any outstanding assessment but who, at the start of the amnesty period, still owe or are properly disputing penalties with regard to that assessment. Payment requirements and due date. Eligible taxpayers who make a full payment of all tax and interest due under the amnesty program for a particular tax type and tax period will be granted amnesty for unpaid penalties associated with such period. Payments made by taxpayers under the amnesty program will be accepted online through the Department's Web Services for Income application or in the form of a check or money order made payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The taxpayer should include the Bill Number from the “Tax Amnesty Notice” when making payment online or by paper check. Such payment will be deemed to constitute a written waiver of rights to the extent such payment relates to the tax and interest in dispute in a pending application for abatement or appeal. Amnesty payments will be regarded as timely if the required payment(s), are received by the appropriate office of the Department of Revenue by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, April 30, 2009. In addition, if a payment is delivered by U.S. mail (or a recognized commercial delivery service) to the appropriate office after April 30, 2009, the payment will be considered timely if the date of the U.S. postmark (or other substantiating date mark) is on or before April 30, 2009. Administration. All payments submitted to the Commissioner under the program relating to amnesty-eligible tax periods will be considered voluntary. Any overpayments will be applied to other periods with outstanding liabilities, if any, or refunded if no outstanding liabilities exist. Participation in the program and payment of the tax and interest does not constitute a forfeiture of statutory rights of appeal or an admission of liability for the assessment. |
