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Tax amnesty — outstanding late penalties and interest waived

ASG Treasurer Uelinitone Tonumaipe’a [SN file photo]
reporters@samoanews.com

Treasury Department’s Tax Office is offering an amnesty program for the remainder of 2017 to tax payers who have an outstanding income tax liability, while the tax filing deadline for tax year 2016 is next week Tuesday, April 18.

TAX AMNESTY

In a statement released late yesterday morning ASG Treasurer Uelinitone Tonumaipe’a announced he has approved an amnesty program for those who have an outstanding tax liability. However, the program, will not be available for outstanding employment taxes or penalties for Filing and Furnishing information Returns.

According to Tonumaipe’a, the amnesty program will be available for the remainder of calendar year 2017. Additionally, settlement offers will require full payment of tax liability portion before the end of 2017 while all outstanding late penalties and interest will be waived.

“As ASG continues its collections efforts, the amnesty program provides a mutually beneficial option to those with outstanding tax liability,” he said.

The program’s purpose “is to empower collection officers to improve enforcement efforts while incentivizing tax payers who have an existing accounts receivable to complete payment of any outstanding balances,” Tonumaipe’a said and noted that this will bring ASG’s accounts receivable reconciliation current at the conclusion of the program.

He says it’s the expectation that formalizing and making public his program “will encourage taxpayers to take advantage of its benefit and avoid costly and unnecessary actions including litigation.”

TAX FILING DEADLINE

The usual deadline for individual tax filing every year is Apr. 15, but this year, it falls on a Saturday. Additionally, Monday, Apr. 17 is a government holiday, in observance of the 2017 Flag Day celebration.

Therefore individual income tax return filing with the Tax Office is Tuesday, Apr. 18, said Tonumaipe’a in a separate statement also released late yesterday morning.

For tax taxpayers with American Samoa sourced income and residing off island, returns must be postmarked Apr. 18, 2017 to meet the deadline.

And Apr. 18 will also be the last day for the Tax Office’s tax filing assistance program, which is a free of charge service provided every year.

Tonumaipea said taxpayers who do not pay the amount due by the original due date may incur late-payment penalties and interest. However, the late payment penalty will not be due for tax payers who pay at least 90% of their tax liability through withholding, estimated tax payments, or with Form 4868 by the original due date.

For more information contact Tax Office at 633-4181 or visit the tax office online page at: americansamoa.gov/tax office-page.

As of yesterday afternoon there was no word from Treasury Department as to when the next batch of tax returns will be released.