From cathleen.m.tavares at state.or.us Fri Aug 28 10:05:59 2009 From: cathleen.m.tavares at state.or.us (TAVARES Cathleen M) Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:05:59 -0700 Subject: [Revenews] iWire LIVE Message-ID: <05DD0E9E20376243998CD4079C2E4950084B018A@EXCHANGE2.dor.local> Payrolltax News August 2009 Welcome to new subscribers! Please provide this information to anyone who may benefit from it. New and Important Information: I. iWire LIVE: The iWire system is now open for the electronic filing of W2s with Oregon. The link to the submission page is located on our website at http://www.oregon.gov/sites/DOR/PERTAX/iwire_info.page Once you click on this link, you will see links to "file specifications", "FAQ" page, and the submission form. Submitting the file is very easy. Simply complete the fields on the submission form which is mainly the submitter's contact information, then browse your computer and upload your .txt or .zip file. If you want to do a test before submitting the actual file, check the box that says, "yes" this is a test file. If you are not submitting a test file, leave the box checked "no." You then receive confirmation that we received the file and a list of any errors associated with that file. If you have any questions about the process, please contact the iWire team by email at iWire.DOR at state.or.us or call us at 503-945-8091 and ask for an iWire Team member. II. Withholding Tax Tables: The Department of Revenue is currently conducting an annual review of the state withholding tax tables. The effect of House Bill 2649 on upper wage levels is also being considered. If it is determined that the tables need revision, the information will be provided through this LISTSERV and on our website at www.oregon.gov/DOR/BUS . Be watching for further developments. III. Amnesty: The Amnesty program will not include the Withholding or Transit Payroll Tax programs. Starting Oct 1, through November 19th 2009, the program will waive penalties and one half interest on overdue returns prior to 2007, or amended returns reporting under reported income for the following programs: a. Corporate Income and Excise taxes b. Personal Income taxes c. Inheritance Tax (for returns due before January 1, 2008) d. Transit District Self Employment taxes We cannot provide state withholding tax amounts for individual taxpayers who do not have their W2's for back tax years. Individuals do have several options. They can either: 1. Request a transcript from the IRS that provides a listing of all employers for a given tax year and the federal withholding tax amounts. An estimation of what the state withholding tax would have been can be calculated using the publication "Estimating Oregon Withholding". A copy can be obtained by calling 503 378-4988 (or 1 800 356-4222 within the state of Oregon.) 2. Use a copy of their final pay stub. This includes the "year to date" deduction amounts, including withholding for state. This can act as a W2. For further information on about Oregon's Tax Amnesty, please visit our website at www.oregontaxamnesty.com Employers are especially encouraged to contact us if they need to file either back withholding or transit tax returns. Although not included under the Amnesty bill, there are numerous options available for those who choose to voluntarily file missing or overdue Oregon Quarterly Tax Reports, including payments plans, penalty waiver considerations and settlement offers. For further information, please call 503 945-8762 to speak with a representative. Education Event: The 16th Annual Portland Small Business Fair Oregon Convention Center 777 NE Martin Luther King Blvd Portland OR 97232 Date: Saturday, September 19th Time: 8:30-4:30 This free event is sponsored by local, state, and federal agencies and other organizations that serve small businesses, providing valuable information for new and prospective employers. Workshops and information booths will provide information including how to obtain business loans, understanding taxes and business licenses, how to select a CPA and selling on the web. For more information, call 503 329-4260 or e-mail linda.e.repp at state.or.us Additional Information: The Department of Revenue has created a new "blog" designed to provide businesses with a forum to obtain information and provide feedback. The "Oregon Employer Blog" can be found at http://oregonemployerinfo.blogspot.com . A new blog is coming out shortly. Please feel free to visit our site and respond to the blog!!! The Payrolltax-News e-mail list provides employers with complete and up-to-date payroll tax information. Employers can self-subscribe here . Representatives in the Business Division will send information to employers through this list. Employers can request additional information by e-mailing payroll.help.dor at state.or.us. As a standard practice, e-mail sent from the department will be in text form only. Department of Revenue will not open attachments because of the possibility of viruses. Questions about list content and subscription problems should be directed to the list-owner: Cathy Tavares Oregon Dept of Revenue Cathleen.M.Tavares at state.or.us 503-945-8762 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From steve.purkeypile at state.or.us Tue Sep 15 11:01:33 2009 From: steve.purkeypile at state.or.us (PURKEYPILE Steve) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:01:33 -0700 Subject: [Revenews] Oregon Tax Amnesty Message-ID: <3EC90E1F764DDD4386E89207DF99251E020ED9B5@EXCHANGE2.dor.local> 9/15/09 Dear Tax Practitioner: As you may have heard by now, the Oregon Legislature passed a tax amnesty program in their session earlier this year. The Department of Revenue is well underway in its preparations for the tax amnesty program. The amnesty period begins in less than three weeks - October 1, 2009 and runs through November 19, 2009. A media campaign has begun throughout the state and television and print ads will be showing up with increasing frequency. The purpose of this letter is to get you acquainted with the program, inform you of upcoming deadlines, and the consequences of not participating. The Department of Revenue considers you to be a vital partner in administering the state's income tax program and we want you to be informed so that you can meet the needs of your clients that may be interested in participating in the amnesty program. Here is how the program works: 1. Anyone who underreported (or didn't report at all) corporate income or excise taxes, personal income taxes, inheritance tax, trust and estate tax, or transit district (self employment only) taxes for tax years 2007 and before (for inheritance tax: the date of death must be before April 1, 2007) may come forward and report any unpaid tax during the amnesty period. If they do so, and have not received a notice of deficiency or been assessed tax for the particular year in question, they will receive a waiver of all penalties and 50% of the interest otherwise due. 2. Those wishing to participate must file an amnesty application with the department anytime from October 1 to November 19, 2009. They must file their original or amended tax returns with the department (whichever is applicable) anytime from October 1 to January 19, 2010. Please remember to write "AMNESTY" on the top of each return. 3. To pay in full, go to the amnesty web page (www.oregontaxamnesty.com) and calculate the interest due and send in payment with the returns. Those who are not able to pay in full should check the box on the application indicating that they wish to enter into a payment plan with the department. A representative will contact the participant to set up the payment plan. 4. When the participant has paid all of the tax and ? the interest due, the department will waive any and all penalties, and the other ? of interest. 5. Things to remember: * Participants must abide by the deadlines above. A failure to comply with the deadlines will result in the amnesty application being revoked. * Participants must file original or amended returns for all years in which they have underreported tax in order to be eligible for amnesty. * Participants waive their right to appeal or request future refunds of any amounts reported on an amnesty amended or original tax return. 6. Taxpayers that could have filed an original or amended return reporting an additional tax liability under amnesty, but failed to do so, will be subject to an additional 25% penalty on any amount of unpaid tax after amnesty is over. As mentioned above, www.oregontaxamnesty.com is the focal point for practitioners and participants to obtain information about amnesty. All advertisements will promote this web address and direct people there for more information. The site will contain, among other things: * Information about the program and instructions on how to participate; * Documents (or hyperlinks) such as the amnesty application, the legislation (SB 880), the administrative rule, and tax forms for prior years; * A video is being produced to educate viewers on how to participate in amnesty; * Contact information such as phone numbers, PO Boxes, and email addresses for participants to use for amnesty questions and correspondence; * An interest calculator so that participants can, on their own, calculate the amount of tax and interest (1/2 of normal interest amount) they will owe; * Frequently asked questions are available so that participants and practitioners can obtain answers to their questions without calling the department The department is sending out approximately 40,000 letters to certain individuals and entities telling them about the amnesty program. About half of the letters are being sent to individuals and corporations that we believe should be filing Oregon returns but have not. The other half of the letters are being sent to certain individuals and corporations that are filing but that are in a category that the department has identified as being particularly susceptible to underreporting tax liabilities. If one of your clients receives one of these letters, you should be aware that they are simply invitations to participate should they need to. If you client has properly filed tax returns, our letter tells them they do not need to respond. The department is taking steps so that amnesty is run efficiently and professionally and yet meets the desired goals of the legislature and the citizens of Oregon. We have built a process to handle the additional workload that we anticipate and yet have backup plans in case more participate than are expected. Nevertheless, we expect call volumes to be high because of the overlapping October 15 extension deadline. We ask for your patience. If you have general questions about the amnesty program, check the website for answers or consider sending an email to oregon.taxamnesty at state.or.us or prac.revenue at state.or.us instead of calling. Thank you for your continued partnership with us. We look forward to working with you to make this a smooth and beneficial process for everyone participating. Sincerely, Steve Purkeypile Personal Income Tax Policy Coordinator Oregon Department of Revenue -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 2321 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From sofia.parra at state.or.us Wed Sep 16 13:10:28 2009 From: sofia.parra at state.or.us (PARRA Sofia) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:10:28 -0700 Subject: [Revenews] Tax Policy Update - Extension reminder Message-ID: <2611A15538E3864E97BFC16FA08B32FA01D09B09@EXCHANGE2.dor.local> Oregon Department of Revenue Personal Tax and Compliance Division Program Services Section Policy & Systems Unit Tax Policy Update 09/16/09 Extension reminder Oregon offers the same extensions to file 2008 tax returns as the IRS. Taxes are still due by the original due date of the return (April 15th). An extension to file is not an extension to pay. There is a 5 percent penalty for failure to pay taxes by the due date. The taxpayer may not be charged the 5 percent failure-to-pay penalty if they meet certain criteria. Interest is also charged for payments after the due date. Oregon's current interest rate for 2009 is 6 percent. If we send a notice that an amount is owed and the taxpayer does not pay within 60 days, the interest rate increases to 10 percent for 2009. See our publication Computing Interest on Tax You Owe for more information about interest. This is a reminder that tax must be paid on or before April 15, even in cases where taxpayers file their actual returns on extension. Interest and penalties (if applicable) will be assessed if the tax is not paid on or before April 15. Tax preparers should make sure their clients understand that the longer the taxpayer waits to pay, the more interest they will be charged and they may also be charged a penalty. Tax preparers may also want to review the information their software prints out for clients who owe, to make sure issues regarding interest and penalties are clear. Taxpayers can choose to avoid penalties and interest by understanding that an extension to file is not an extension to pay. ### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: