Pa. governor launches 54-day tax amnesty program

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — For the next 54 days, businesses and people who owe back taxes in Pennsylvania will be allowed to pay up with only a fraction of the usual penalties and interest.

Gov. Ed Rendell had press conferences today in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to kick off Pennsylvania’s first tax-amnesty program in 14 years.

It allows tax dodgers who owe the state more than $2 billion to pay their taxes without any penalty and only half the usual interest. It’s expected to generate $190 million for the financially strained state treasury.

A $3 million multimedia campaign includes a TV ad that shows a camera honing in on a satellite image of a supposed tax dodger’s home as the narrator warns viewers that “we do know who you are.”