Massachusetts Municipal Tax Amnesty Program Extended

The legislative body in a city or town may vote to establish a municipal tax amnesty program with an amnesty period that extends to a date not later than June 30, 2004 (formerly, December 31, 2003). If an amnesty program has already been established, the legislative body may vote to extend the amnesty period to a date not later than June 30, 2004. Under a municipal tax amnesty program, a city or town would waive its right to collect penalties, fees, charges, and accrued interest on a subject liability if the taxpayer voluntarily pays the full amount of the subject liability during the amnesty period. "Subject liability" is defined as the principal amount of a taxpayer's liability for local property tax or local excise tax on a motor vehicle, boat, ship, or vessel.

After contacting the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services, we found that there is no "official" list of participating communities, and they did not know which cities/towns participated, as this is only an option for municipalities and it must go through a formal approval process (through town/city council meetings etc.), and there are still some municipalities debating the amnesty program. They did state that there are approximately 6 municipalities participating in the amnesty program in the state, and they recommend that you contact your local assessors office to see if they are offering the amnesty program. 

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