A. For the purpose of encouraging the voluntary disclosure and payment of taxes owed to this state, the Oklahoma Tax Commission is hereby authorized and directed to establish a Voluntary Disclosure Initiative for eligible taxes, as provided in this section. A taxpayer shall be entitled to a waiver of penalty, interest and other collection fees due on eligible taxes if the taxpayer voluntarily files delinquent tax returns and pays the taxes due during the disclosure initiative. The time in which a voluntary payment of tax liability may be made or the taxpayer may enter into a payment program acceptable to the Tax Commission for payment of the unpaid taxes in full in the manner and time established in a written payment program agreement between the Tax Commission and the taxpayer under the Voluntary Disclosure Initiative is limited to the period beginning September 1, 2017, and ending November 30, 2017.
B. Upon payment of the eligible taxes under the Voluntary Disclosure Initiative established, the Tax Commission shall abate and not seek to collect any interest, penalties or collection fees that would otherwise be applicable.
C. As used in this section, "eligible taxes" shall include the following taxes that were due and payable for any tax period or periods ending prior to entering into an agreement as provided in the initiative except as provided in this subsection:
1. Mixed beverage tax levied pursuant to Section 576 of Title 37 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
2. Gasoline and diesel tax levied pursuant to Section 500.4 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
3. Gross production and petroleum excise tax levied pursuant to Sections 1001, 1101 and 1102 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
4. Sales tax levied pursuant to Section 1354 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
5. Use tax levied pursuant to Section 1402 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
6. Income tax levied pursuant to Section 2355 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes for tax periods ending prior to January 1, 2016; and
7. Withholding tax levied pursuant to Section 2385.2 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
D. To be eligible to participate in this initiative, taxpayers must:
1. Not have outstanding tax liabilities other than those reported pursuant to this initiative;
2. Not have been contacted by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, or third party acting on behalf of the Commission, with respect to the taxpayer's potential or actual obligation to file a return or make a payment to the state;
3. Not have collected taxes from others, such as sales and use taxes or payroll taxes, and not reported those taxes; and
4. Not have, within the preceding three (3) years, entered into a voluntary disclosure agreement for the type of tax owed.
E. If the Tax Commission agrees with the proposed terms for payment of the principal amount of tax due and owing, the penalties and interest otherwise imposed by law upon the principal amount shall be waived by operation of law and no further action by the Tax Commission or by the taxpayer shall be required for the waiver of such penalty and applicable interest.
F. The Tax Commission shall limit the period for which additional taxes may be assessed to three (3) taxable years for annually filed taxes or thirty-six (36) months for taxes that do not have an annual filing frequency.
G. Taxpayers who meet all of the qualifications specified in subsection D of this section, except those who have collected taxes from others, such as sales and use taxes or payroll taxes, and not reported those taxes, may enter into a modified voluntary disclosure agreement.
H. The provisions of a modified voluntary disclosure agreement shall be the same as a voluntary disclosure agreement as specified in subsection E of this section; provided, the waiver of interest shall not apply except as may be optionally granted at the discretion of the Tax Commission, and the period for which taxes must be reported and remitted or assessed is extended beyond the three-year or thirty-six-month period provided in subsection F of this section to include all periods in which tax has been collected but not remitted.
I. The waiver of penalty and interest provided herein is fully effective provided taxpayer continues payment or collection and remittance of applicable taxes, as required by law, for a period of one (1) year after the tax period(s) for which taxes were paid pursuant to this initiative.
J. The Tax Commission is authorized to expend necessary available funds, including contracting with third parties, to publicly advertise, assist in the collection of eligible taxes, and administer the Voluntary Disclosure Initiative and shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 85.7 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes for the purpose of implementing this section.
K. The Tax Commission is authorized to promulgate rules detailing the terms and other conditions of this program.
Added by Laws 2017, c. 327, § 1, eff. July 1, 2017.