La. Tax Amnesty Collections Expected To Be Harder

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield says delinquent taxpayers seeking to take advantage of Louisiana's latest amnesty period will be allowed to pay their back-owed debts through an installment plan.

Barfield hopes offering that new option will help generate more interest in the amnesty program, which needs to drum up $100 million to keep this year's state budget in balance.

The tax amnesty runs from Oct. 15 through Nov. 14, offering people the ability to settle tax debts with half the interest and no penalties charged.

Louisiana brought in $452 million from a similar amnesty last year, but Barfield told the Baton Rouge Press Club that expectations should be lowered this time. He says the remaining delinquent taxes are harder to collect.

Details about the tax amnesty program are available at www.ldrtaxamnesty.com .