Town Gets OK On Tax Amnesty Program

People who owe overdue car and tangible taxes in would be able to pay them without penalty under a bill passed by the General Assembly in the early-morning hours of July 1.

Chief of Staff Doug Jeffrey, during a phone interview on July 5, said the town will likely start the 45-day amnesty period in September.

"That will give us time to market the program to taxpayers, to get all of our records reconciled, and to work out what the process will be," Jeffrey explained.

(A copy of the Senate bill is attached to this article.)

The amnesty is being offered for taxes owed between 2001 and 2009, meaning that people who owe them can pay them back without additional interest or penalties, Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey added that individuals and companies who currently have payment agreements with the town's collection agency are not eligible for the amnesty program.

Finance Director Joe Chiodo, during a separate interview, said the town is owed about $1.5 million in back car taxes and about $1.3 million in tangible taxes, or levies placed on business equipment.

Since most of that money has been owed since 2008 and earlier — the 2009 back taxes are about $165,000 for cars and $173,000 for tangible property — Chiodo explained "there could be significant savings for people" if they pay their bills.

Late-night push to fix bill

Sen. Frank Lombardo III (D-Dist. 25), the sponsor of the bill to allow the amnesty program, said during a recent interview that the legislation went through frantic last-minute changes as the General Assembly held late-night sessions late last week.

Originally, the bill stated that property taxes would be eligible — which is not the case — and that the anmesty period would be for the fiscal year that ended June 30, Lombardo explained.

"Those errors were corrected at the last hour," Lombardo said. "When it came over from the House, we had to amend their bill."

The House Finance Committee even had to hold a special meeting to approve the changes to the bill to make sure it was accurate, Lombardo explained.

Unofficial records of the two chambers' votes on the bill show that the Senate voted 36-0 to approve it on June 29 at about 6:30 p.m., and the House passed the bill by a 61-0 vote on July 1 at 12:40 a.m.

"We did what we had to do and got what I feel the town of Johnston needed to have," the first-term senator said.

As of 1 p.m. on July 6, the bill was awaiting Gov. Lincoln Chafee's review.