November 12, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Texas Update on Naupa Voluntary Compliance Effort.
An unprecedented national cooperative effort is underway to assist holders
of unclaimed property comply with state law. Thirty-nine states and the
District of Columbia have participated in a Voluntary Compliance Program
that was originally slated to end on October 31, 1999. Several states
have agreed to extended the deadline until October 31, 2000. States participating
in this one year extension period may waive penalties and interest on
holders who turn over their unclaimed property.
Many businesses hold a wide variety of valuable property that has not been
claimed by their rightful owners for one or more years. Examples are dormant
accounts, uncashed checks, unused gift certificates, customer credits,
and security deposits. Corporate headquarter accountants might not be
aware of unclaimed property held by far-flung operating units and subsidiaries.
Each state has its own statute of limitations for remitting the unclaimed
property.
States participating in the amnesty program are offering holders of unclaimed
property a "carrot and stick" approach. If they voluntarily
comply, the penalties and interest may be waived. If they do not voluntarily
comply, states may begin aggressive audits of unclaimed property. The
auditors could look back as far back as 10 years to identify unclaimed
property and assess penalties and interest that may exceed 100 percent
of the property's value.
Most states and the District of Columbia participated in the original voluntary
compliance period. The eleven states that did not formally join the program
were California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, Mississippi,
Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, and Oklahoma.
The following states have agreed to extend the October 31, 1999 deadline in
their voluntary compliance effort. Unless otherwise stated, these states
have agreed to extend their amnesty program through October 31, 2000.
These states include:
Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
Kansas
Maine
Minnesota
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
North Carolina
North Dakota (until 12.31.99)
Ohio
Oregon
South Carolina
Utah (until 12.31.00)
Vermont
Virginia (until 12.31.99)
Washington
West Virginia (until 4.1.00)
Wyoming
Ryan & Company, a nationally recognized leader in state and local
tax services, is ready to assist businesses with unclaimed property issues.
Eric L. Stein, a principal in Ryan & Company's Austin, Texas
office, is familiar with unclaimed property requirements across the country.
Mr. Stein was appointed as the national liaison between the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Unclaimed
Property Administrators. The Ryan SALT Gateway includes a web page
with links to the unclaimed property
web sites for all states and the District of Columbia.
For more information, contact Eric L. Stein at 512.476.0022 or e-mail to
eric.stein@ryanco.com.
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