Tax Amnesty Collections Near $10 Million

Program on Pace to Hit $48 Million Target

Richmond, VA, October 15, 2003 - Virginia's Tax Amnesty program, which seeks to spur the collection of $48 million in delinquent state taxes, collected almost $10 million in the first four weeks ending Sept. 30, a total that Department of Taxation officials say puts the program ahead of at a pace for success.

"Based on historic collection recent trends in sister states' amnesties, the Commonwealth's amnesty program isahead of  on schedule," said Kenneth W. Thorson, Tax Commissioner.  "Given the fact that, traditionally, most amnesty participants are expected to delay payment until the final two weeks, I am confident that we will meet our collection target." 

The Department has received more than 100,000 inquiries - phone calls and web site visits - since the beginning of the program, and officials anticipate that collections will continue to accelerate. With a total of 78,000 phone calls and 37,000 visits to the special amnesty web site, response to the 63-day amnesty among the state's delinquent taxpayers has been steady.

But Thorson cautions against waiting too long.  "The department is well prepared to handle the volume of taxpayers who want to take advantage of amnesty," he said.  "But the pipeline in the closing days will have only so much capacity to accommodate the rush of last-minute participants.  Taxpayers run the risk of missing out on amnesty if they delay making their payment too long.  That miss could be costly, especially with the addition of the 20% penalty that will be added on delinquent bills not paid during amnesty."

Many Amnesty participants are taking advantage of an innovative on-line payment option, the first in the nation just like it.  Called QuickPay, the service allows qualified taxpayers to make their amnesty payment directly from their bank account.  Payments can also be "warehoused," meaning that the electronic transfer of funds from the taxpayer's account does not take place immediately, giving taxpayers the ability to plan and schedule a payment in the future.  But what makes QuickPay truly unique is its ability to display a taxpayer's Amnesty-eligible bills and automatically calculate the Amnesty savings for any or all bills a taxpayer chooses to pay.

"No other state that we are aware of gives taxpayers this level of flexibility - the kind of options that certain private bill-paying services offer customers, but often with a fee," said Kenneth W. Thorson, Tax Commissioner.  "QuickPay is available at no cost and is absolutely secure.  It is a state-of-the-art feature, and we believe it will help many more taxpayers take advantage of amnesty."  According to Thorson, the Department plans to continue offering the QuickPay option after the conclusion of the amnesty period for regular tax bills.

Authorized earlier this year by the Virginia General Assembly, the tax amnesty program waives all penalties and half of the accrued interest on most back taxes owed to the Commonwealth by individual and business taxpayers, providing that the delinquent taxes are paid during the amnesty period, which runs from Sept. 2 to Nov. 3 of this year.