Other Highlights
MAYOR ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA
City of Los Angeles
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2009
CONTACT:
Casey Hernandez
(213) 978-0741
MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA ANNOUNCES $18.6 MILLION IN REVENUE FROM TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM
Program that allowed businesses to avoid penalty fees saved them $6.7 million
LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Controller Wendy Greuel today announced the success of the City’s Tax Penalty Amnesty Program.
The business-friendly amnesty program generated $18.6 million in revenue from 8,673 businesses.
The revenue generated greatly exceeded the goal of $10 million, a strong outcome given the current economic climate.
“The Amnesty Program proved to be a useful tool for businesses and the City,” Mayor Villaraigosa said.
“By paying their fair share of City taxes, the businesses that participated are actively supporting the essential services that make our City work. The program allowed us to increase revenue without raising taxes.”
Of the 8,673 businesses, 394 are newly registered in the City, and are expected to provide ongoing revenue. Overall, businesses were granted $6.7 million in penalty waivers. A comprehensive and aggressive public outreach campaign contributed to the program’s success as well as the dedicated work of the Office of Finance and loaned staff from other City departments.
"The City’s Tax Penalty Amnesty program has been a win-win for Angelenos and the City," said Controller Greuel. "With many people struggling to get by, it gave families and businesses a one-time opportunity to avoid penalties, and the City an opportunity to collect sorely needed revenue. This $18 million dollars will go a long way towards helping to reduce our budget deficit and maintain vital City services."
"The results of the Amnesty program exceeded our expectations,” said Director of Finance Antoinette Christovale. “We are pleased that so many businesses took advantage of the program to clear their tax debt. Now that the program has ended, we will vigorously pursue collection of all taxes owed including penalties through various enforcement measures in the Office of Finance."
The 2009 Tax Amnesty Program was an opportunity for business owners to clear their tax records without paying any of the normally required penalties, which can amount to up to 40 percent of the principal tax due.
The following City taxes qualified for amnesty:
- Business Tax
- Telephone, Electricity, & Gas Users Taxes
- Commercial Tenant’s Occupancy Tax
- Transient Occupancy Tax
- Parking Occupancy Tax
With the Tax Amnesty Program now over, the Office of Finance will vigorously pursue a range of enforcement actions to collect outstanding taxes due. The actions include but are not limited to additional penalties, an expanded audit program and on-site investigations, data matching with governmental agencies, referrals to collection agencies, legal action, publication of tax debt, whistleblower program and revocation of permits for parking lot operators. Businesses were advised of these enforcement actions through the program outreach campaign.