PHOENIX -- The state of Arizona is owed more than $400 million in unpaid taxes, primarily from corporations, but there simply aren’t enough tax collectors to take in the resources, state officials have revealed.
The Arizona Economic Council said taking steps to boost tax enforcement efforts could spare deeper cuts to Arizona universities and schools and restore critical funds to job creation engines.
Anthony Forschino, assistant director of the Department of Revenue, said that severe cuts to the agency as a result of the Jan. 31 budget have hampered tax enforcement efforts. Of the $400 million in unpaid taxes owed to the state treasury, “businesses owe more than 60 percent of those taxes” and “451 businesses owe a total of $117 million.” [Source: The Arizona Republic, April 2, 2009]
According to The Arizona Republic, “With 208 tax collectors and auditors laid off since late February because of budget cuts, the agency projects the state will lose $174 million through next year in reduced collections of delinquent sales, income and corporate taxes.” State Revenue Chief Gale Garriott, a member of the Brewer Cabinet, warned state lawmakers about the losses last month. [Source: Garriott Testimony to House Appropriations Committee, March 10, 2009; The Arizona Republic, April 2, 2009]
“The Brewer Administration has told us that there are hundreds of millions of dollars on the table that we can secure by enforcing the law,” said George Cunningham of the Arizona Economic Council. “Before we cut more from education or raise a regressive tax to balance the budget, we must take the fiscally prudent step of collecting what is owed to the state.”
According to The Republic, “The cuts to Arizona's revenue department were the largest, by percentage of workforce, than any other state's tax collection agency, said Jim Eads, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Federation of Tax Administrators.” [Source: The Arizona Republic, April 2, 2009]
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