New Canaan Attorney Offers Help for New CT Tax Amnesty Program

NEW CANAAN, CT — On Thursday, Dec. 7, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced an amnesty program for Connecticut state taxes. Connecticut is offering to allow individuals and businesses to report old unpaid taxes for Connecticut and they will waive the penalties, and most of the interest, in an effort to collect unpaid taxes. In addition, the State will not pursue criminal prosecution and may limit the number of years they look back.

According to the Department of Revenue Services, the CT Fresh Start program, a voluntary compliance initiative, was created by the bipartisan state budget Governor Malloy signed into law on October 31 and is aiming to bring in $60 million to the state by the end of the 2018 fiscal year and an additional $25 million by November 30, totaling $85 million.

“Not only will this program help individuals and businesses get back on track on their tax payments, but it will bring significant revenue back to our state, without raising taxes,” Governor Malloy said in a statement.

“This revenue will be especially helpful during this time of budgetary constraint, under which our state has learned to do more with less. I strongly urge all filers that are behind on their payments to take this opportunity to make a fresh start.”

The rule won’t apply if an audit has already started or if the state is already addressing the issue. The new tax amnesty program covers virtually all state taxes including income, sales, business and gift taxes. The state's website explained that the tax amnesty program differs from the program in 2013, "because Fresh Start does not include accounts receivable and there is an emphasis on future compliance in the agreement for the next 3 years. CT Fresh Start works with individual and business taxpayers to get them back-on-track filing, reporting, and paying their tax obligations."

The sooner a taxpayer enters the Connecticut Fresh Start program, the more they can potentially save on interest and possibly avoid an audit, which would disqualify them from participating.

"This is a good program for people who have back taxes they need to pay," said John Sweeney, a local tax attorney. "They can pay their back taxes, get peace of mind, eliminate a potential criminal problem and limit the amount of money they have to pay since the penalties and interest were often significant."

The amnesty ends on Nov. 30, 2018, so the time frame is limited to correct past sins. To discuss options and talk to a seasoned Tax Lawyer, call Sweeney Legal at (203) 216-6877 or email SweeneyLegal@gmail.com.

Visit www.legalsweeney.com. for more information.

Image by 401(K) 2012 via Flickr Creative Commons