To be eligible for the Voluntary Disclosure Program there must have been no previous contact with the Taxpayer by the Division or any of its Agents; and the Taxpayer must be willing to pay ALL outstanding tax liabilities in FULL and file the back returns within reasonable period (usually 30 to 60 days). No deferred payment plans will be considered. Since each request is considered on a case-by-case basis, the Division may require additional information. Once the Taxpayer has accepted these conditions, it must submit a written proposal detailing all New Jersey business activity. This proposal should include the commencement date of the activity and the tax(es) to be filed. All taxes administered by the Division are eligible, but the most common include Corporation, Sales/Use, Litter, Personal Income and Withholding taxes. The general look-back period is four (4) years (three prior years and the current year) which coincides with New Jersey’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights. All agreements entered into by the Division will be assigned an identifying number and are subject to review by Division management. Once this is accomplished and the terms are agreeable to the Taxpayer, the Division will sign copies of the agreement and return them for the Taxpayer’s signature. The executed agreement will clearly state which taxes are due and the effective date. It will indicate when these returns must be submitted (usually within sixty days). It will further state the requirement for the completing the Tax Registration forms and Nexus Questionnaire. The Division agrees to waive the late filing, late payment, civil or criminal penalties relating to the tax returns and periods subject to the agreement with two exceptions. An unabateable penalty of 5% will be imposed for failure to take advantage of the Tax Amnesty Program that ended on June 10, 2002. This 5% penalty applies to tax returns with due dates after January 1, 1996 and before January 1, 2002. In those instances where the taxpayer collected sales tax but failed to remit it, a 5% late payment penalty will be imposed on the amount of sales tax collected. In addition, interest will be assessed and calculated at the prime rate plus three percent for the tax returns and periods included in the agreement. To start the process (or if you have any questions regarding the Program), please contact either: Michael A. Gorczycki, Assistant Chief Office Audit Branch via mail at P.O. Box 269, Trenton, New Jersey 08695-0269, via phone at 609-943-5634, via fax at 609-633-2681, or via email for Corporation Business Tax, Sales and Use Tax and/or other business tax issues; or The Individual Tax Audit Branch, P.O. Box 288, Trenton, New Jersey 08695-0288, 609-292-2163 for Gross Income Tax Individual and Withholding issues. For Gross Income Tax Individual and Withholding issues you may contact the Individual Tax Audit Branch, P.O. Box 288, Trenton, New Jersey 08695-0288, 609-292-2163. If you are doing business in multiple states, the Multistate Tax Commission (through its National Nexus Program) also has a Voluntary Disclosure Program. They can be reached at the National Nexus Program, Multistate Tax Commission, 444 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 425, Washington, DC 20001, 202-508-3800.
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