Tax – Unclaimed Property

Pennsylvania Tax Amnesty 2010 Summary

The 2010 Pennsylvania Tax Amnesty officially ended June 18, 2010. If you missed the deadline you may still be able to negotiate payments and reduce your penalties for past due taxes. For instance, you may be able to use a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement. Please contact my office for more information.

Pennsylvania has joined the parade of states that decided to use a tax amnesty for an immediate boost to their state’s revenue. The Pennsylvania tax amnesty begins on April 26, 2010 and ends June 18, 2010. Included in the taxes eligible for amnesty are the corporate income tax, the individual income tax, and the sales and use taxes. This can be an excellent opportunity for businesses and individuals located outside the state to become compliant with Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania tax amnesty relieves the taxpayer of all penalties and half the interest due… Continue reading “Pennsylvania Tax Amnesty 2010 Summary”

Voluntary Disclosure Agreements

Many companies discover they did not file required state tax returns, but they do not know how to address the issue. States understand that taxpayers often do not uncover income tax or sales tax filing obligations until a potentially large tax bill makes coming forward difficult, if not impossible. Most states provide voluntary disclosure programs to bring these reluctant, but otherwise law-abiding, taxpayers back into the flock. The voluntary disclosure programs forgive all but the most recent tax years and reduce or eliminate penalties and interest. Continue reading “Voluntary Disclosure Agreements”

States Increasingly Audit for Unclaimed Property

Because of the political hurdles typically constraining states from raising taxes, many have turned to raising revenues via laws already on the books. While audit fears generally cause companies to comply with other tax laws, many are unaware of their business’s obligations regarding unclaimed property, also referred to as “abandoned property”.

Many states in the past selectively enforced such laws, concentrating on financial institutions where abandoned accounts, safety deposit boxes, and uncashed dividend checks produced significant bangs for their audit bucks. Increasingly; however, states have turned to other sources, such as hospitals, and have increased enforcement against companies with large or transient payrolls that may fail to report uncashed payroll checks.

Continue reading “States Increasingly Audit for Unclaimed Property”