Colorado residents and businesses that are behind on their taxes have until November 15 to take advantage of tax amnesty program

Thursday, November 10 2011

Democratic initiative will help generate much needed revenue for schools

Coloradans have until November 15 to cash in on a tax break that lets residents and businesses off the hook for half of their accrued interest and other civil and criminal penalties if they pay their back taxes.

The amnesty program was created by Senator Pat Steadman (D-Denver) and Representative Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver), members of the Joint Budget Committee, to reduce the cut to public school funding.  All additional revenues raised by the program go directly to the State Education Fund.
 
Almost all individual and business taxes due on or before December 31, 2010 are eligible for the program.  The Department of Revenue has already collected over $804,000 of back taxes through the program, over half of which came from individual income taxes.  

Senator Steadman offered the following comment on the program:

“If you’ve fallen behind on your taxes, I encourage you to use this program to help schools that desperately need funding.  Programs like these have been successful in generating much needed revenue, and I’m hoping that folks take advantage of the opportunity while it's here.”
 
This is only the third tax amnesty Colorado has offered.  A 1985 amnesty collected $6.4 million and a 2003 amnesty brought in $23.4 million.   After the current amnesty expires, residents owing back taxes will again be subject to penalties ranging from interest charges to garnished wages and property seizures.

Representative Farrandino offered the following comment to those who may want to take advantage of the tax amnesty program:

“If you're a delinquent taxpayer, you're not going to get a better deal than this one.”


For more information visit coloradotaxamnesty.com or call 303-205-8288 or toll-free at 1-855-330-3490.