The two-month state tax amnesty program is underway for people who are looking to clean up their tax messes and save some money. Stuart Vos of the Iowa Department of Revenue says things got started quickly as they opened 550 amnesty requests and collected 150-thousand dollars just in the first day Tuesday.
Vos says most of the people who had been contacted that the state already knew they owed money. Others had been working with their tax people to be sure they got their applications in. Vos says the amnesty is open to taxpayers who aren’t under active criminal investigation, or part of a criminal proceeding pending in the Iowa court system, or to those with settlement agreements.
Vos says any individual or business that owes money or has failed to file a return can file and have half of the interest cut and all of the penalty waived. Vos says the amnesty does not do away with your tax obligation. He says you still have to pay tax and file a return if one is due.
Vos says there are a couple of ways to sign up. You can call toll-free 1-877-422-5829 or go to the website at: www.iowataxamnesty.gov and download all the forms needed. Vos says the amnesty period runs through October 31st, and then your chance to clear things up is over.
Vos says the legislature has said this will be the only tax amnesty until at least 2025. "So this is a good time for folks to take advantage of this offer, save themselves interest, save themselves penalty,"Voss says, "and as we say, ‘pay the tax and relax.’" The state expects to collect 54-million dollars in the two-month amnesty period.