When NJ announced its tax amnesty program, it had high hopes. With sinking revenues and a gaping hole in the budget, Governor Corzine hoped that the amnesty program would give the state some much needed relief. His lofty goal? $200 million in just six weeks.
Barely two weeks into the amnesty program, the state met its goal. At the end of the program, the state had brought in an amazing $617 million.
Take a moment and let that sink in. That was three times the goal that many didn’t even expect to meet.
Taxpayers were offered the chance to set things right and they did. No chasing. No collections efforts. No heavy-handed pursuit. Just the chance to pay back taxes, no questions asked, no penalties and reduced interest. And people responded.
I am a big fan of amnesty programs. Many times, taxpayers who get behind are just overwhelmed at the enormity of fixing it. Why make it hard? Why not say just pay us what you owe plus a little interest and let’s move on? NJ did and look what happened.
I’m not saying give cheats a free pass – and neither was NJ. Taxpayers who were under criminal investigation or facing charges for tax evasion were not able to participate.
So what will NJ do with its extra revenue? Offer property tax relief for folks who were paying their taxes: the legislature is now working to put taxpayer rebates that had been previously been cut back into the budget.
Good for NJ (and no, you won’t hear me say that often).
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