Two years ago, I wrote my very first piece for Forbes. The article, titled Tax Amnesty Works Without Big Brother, was the result of criticisms I had levied at the PA Department of Revenue for its heavy-handed treatment of taxpayers as part of the Commonwealth’s amnesty program.
The amnesty program, which ran in 2010, went on to net the Commonwealth $261 million in back taxes ($71 million more than anticipated) despite being plagued with bad press and complaints about weak customer support. Revenue brushed off criticisms and forged ahead. The program ended in 2010 but Revenue was updating its web site as recently as December 2011. Only they didn’t quite update everything. The Amnesty page, which still exists on Revenue’s web site, has a new look.
They don’t quite look like they used to. While you can register a domain name with some registrars for as little as 99 cents per year, the PA Department of Revenue apparently didn’t want to pay an extra buck or two. It appears that Revenue let the PA Amnesty domain name, PATaxPayUp.com, expire. It’s now a site hawking Viagra, Cialis, Levitra and the like, owned by the unfortunately (but aptly) titled Russian company, StrukOff Media.
If you’re searching for PA Amnesty information, you’ll now get an ad for pills made in India for sale – without a prescription – along with testimonials like this one:
After a long time struggling to bring my marriage back to life, I now feel like I’m in my twenties again, my confidence is stronger than ever and my wife is smiling all day long… and she doesn’t even know what hit her!
I’m guessing that PA isn’t planning on hatching a new amnesty plan any time soon…
