The PA Department of Revenue (PA DOR) has advised the Pennsylvania Institute of CPA’s (PICPA) that the PA DOR will be re-instituting its Voluntary Disclosure Program with guidelines similar to those of the prior Tax Amnesty Program that ended on June 18, 2010. They have indicated however, that the 5% non-participation penalty will not be waived. In the previous program, 100% of penalties and half of the interest were waived for anyone who paid their delinquent state taxes. Individuals, businesses and other entities with Pennsylvania tax delinquencies were generally eligible to participate in the Tax Amnesty Program.
The purpose of the Voluntary Disclosure Program is to provide an opportunity for businesses and individuals who recently became aware of Pennsylvania tax obligations to come forward and meet such obligations voluntarily, without having to pay full statutory penalties. When the PA Tax Amnesty program was first introduced the PA DOR indicated that it may discontinue the Voluntary Disclosure Program, as it was suspended during the Amnesty Program. This recent announcement is good news for tax payers!
The PICPA anticipates that PA DOR will update its website soon. No further information is currently available.
If you owe back taxes to Pennsylvania and would like to discuss your options relative to the Voluntary Disclosure Program or any other tax issues, please call our offices at (215) 665-3960 as ask to speak to one of our shareholders. You can also email us at info@taxwarriors.com