Today, the 2015 tax amnesty program begins and will continue through December 15, 2015.
In connection with the program, on November 3 the Louisiana Department of Revenue issued its Revenue Information Bulletin (RIB) No. 2015-037 providing taxpayers with specific information on this year’s amnesty.
Notably, unlike the language of Act 822 (2014 Reg. Sess.) upon which the 2015 tax amnesty program is based, the Department’s RIB states that the following taxes and tax periods are included in the 2015 tax amnesty program:
- Taxes due prior to January 1, 2015, for which the Department has issued an individual or a business proposed assessment, notice of assessment, bill, notice or demand for payment not later than May 31, 2015; or
- Taxes for taxable periods that began before January 1, 2015 (Act 822, however, only references 2014 in this subsection); or
- Taxes for which the taxpayer and the Department have entered into an agreement to interrupt the running of prescription pursuant to R.S. 47:1580 and said agreement suspends the running of prescription until December 31, 2015 (Act 822, however, only references 2014 in this subsection).
Taxpayers should be aware of this inconsistency, as described above, between the RIB’s language and the underlying amnesty act’s language when applying for amnesty.
Other highlights of the RIB include:
- All business taxpayers are required to file returns (amended or original) with their amnesty application.
- Taxpayers are not eligible for both Amnesty and a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) for the same tax type and same tax period.
- No refunds shall be given for amounts paid by the taxpayer to the Department before October 14, 2014, for taxable periods that are eligible for amnesty.
- No interest will be paid on refunds issued for payments made under protest that are used as an amnesty payment.
- Monies paid for tax periods for which amnesty was granted are ineligible for refund, credit or claim against the state.
- A taxpayer shall be eligible for a refund or credit under the following circumstances:
- The overpayment arises after the amnesty application is submitted and is attributable to a properly claimed Louisiana net operating loss, or
- The overpayment is attributable to an adjustment made by the Internal Revenue Service to the taxpayer’s federal income tax, and the taxpayer provides written notice of the adjustment to the secretary within 60 days of receipt of the adjustment from the Internal Revenue Service.
In addition, the Department has now issued new FAQs on its 2015 tax amnesty website at ldrtaxamnesty.com.
One notable change in the FAQs is that the Department expressly states that New Orleans Exhibition Hall taxes are eligible for amnesty this year (these taxes were previously considered to be ineligible by the Department in prior tax amnesty programs).
Review our prior coverage for a more in-depth discussion of the 2015 tax amnesty program.
