Rhode Island’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget bill contains a provision requiring the Tax Administrator to establish a tax amnesty program open to all taxpayers who are delinquent on any Rhode Island state taxes. The amnesty program will take place from December 1, 2017 to February 15, 2018. The amnesty program applies to any taxable period ending on or before December 31, 2016. For qualified taxpayers, the Tax Administrator generally will not seek civil or criminal prosecution, will waive penalties, and will reduce the applicable interest rate by 25% (e.g. the 2016 interest rate of 18% would be reduced to 13.5%). The amnesty program will be open to any taxpayer who pays the tax and interest due upon filing the amnesty tax return, or who enters into a short-term installment payment agreement for reasons of financial hardship. The Rhode Island Division of Taxation will post the application form for the amnesty program. Amnesty will not be granted to taxpayers who are under any criminal investigation or are a party to any civil or criminal proceeding, pending in any court of the United States or the state of Rhode Island, for fraud in relation to any state tax imposed by the law of the state and collected by the tax administrator. (H.B. 5175, Laws 2017)