Missouri banks on amnesty to collect taxes

If you owe state taxes -- and maybe a penalty too -- in Missouri, now's the time to settle up.

During the legislative session that concluded in May, the General Assembly took a step that many other states have taken. Lawmakers enacted, and Gov. Bob Holden signed into law, a 90-day tax-amnesty program.

Over the next three months, delinquent taxpayers can pay up and avoid being penalized or paying interest.

Like many states, Missouri is in something of a budget crunch, with revenue from taxes running below what state budget officials had forecast With officials looking for every penny, this tax-amnesty program was one of the steps lawmakers took to rectify the shortfall.

Says Department of Revenue director Carol Fischer:

"In many instances, the interest and penalties often exceed what a taxpayer owes in back taxes. Tax amnesty is a great opportunity to pay the tax and have the interest and penalties waived."

This opportunity began Aug. 1 and runs through Oct. 31.

Fischer's department is spending $150,000 to publicize the program, which applies to 20 different state taxes, including estate and income taxes.

Estimates are that there are 200,000 delinquent taxpayers in Missouri. If Fischer's department has already filed a lawsuit in an effort to collect delinquent taxes, amnesty isn't an option.

No one really knows how much the state can expect to take in through the amnesty. Back in 1983, a similar program produced about $900,000, but officials say it wasn't heavily promoted. With the publicity being given this time, state officials are hoping to rake in between $15 and $20 million.

Tax-amnesty programs in other states have produced from $31 million in Wisconsin to $45 million in New Mexico to $178 million in Louisiana last year.

So Missouri is hoping a large number of its delinquent taxpayers will take advantage of the three-month amnesty.

No matter how much revenue it produces, an amnesty isn't a long-term fix for state budget woes.

That will require lots of tough work and tough choices from the lawmakers we will elect this November.