In Louisville, the Taxman Has His Own Rock Song

In Louisville, the Taxman Has His Own Rock Song

LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1966 the Beatles sang famously of a taxman with no heart and no sense of humor.

Today the Louisville Revenue Commission is proving it has both with a tax amnesty program that sports a witty rock 'n' roll theme song. The program and the song were launched in March.

"It's not always easy to get people's attention when you're talking about taxes," said Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson. "We wanted to have some fun with it, while letting people know about the amnesty program."

Louisville Metro Government enlisted The Accountants, a local rock band with experience creating jingles. Paper-pushers by day, rockers by night, the band really does include working accountants as members. The group wears suits, ties and dark sunglasses onstage.

The Accountants wrote the song "Amnesty," the lyrics of which include, "You've only got till the end of May/ The deadline to pay/ It's money you owe, so give up the dough/ I'm gonna shout, time is running out."

The song is part of an overall public-awareness campaign for Louisville's tax amnesty program that includes more conventional advertising and publicity as well.

Through May 31 the amnesty program will eliminate penalties and interest on overdue occupational license fees, a local tax in Louisville. The fee generates about $325 million in revenue annually for Louisville, the local public school district and the local public transit authority.

Louisville government expects to collect $4 million through the amnesty program. When the program ends, enforcement will resume. The Louisville Revenue Commission has expanded its enforcement staff and Louisville is one of fewer than 20 cities nationwide that participates in the IRS data-matching program - which provides tax records helpful in tracking down businesses and individuals who owe the occupational fees.

This is the first tax amnesty program for Louisville, which became the nation's 16th largest city in 2003 following a city-county merger. Louisville was the first community its size to enact such a merger in 30 years.

Find out more about the amnesty program at www.louisvilletaxamnesty.com ; to hear the song, click "Media." Learn more about the band at http://www.cparock.com/ .

Source: Louisville Revenue Commission

CONTACT: Phil Miller, +1-502-574-1901, or +1-502-439-4726, or Matt Kamer,
+1-502-574-1903, or +1-502-797-6276, both for Louisville Revenue Commission

Web site: http://www.louisvilletaxamnesty.com/
http://www.cparock.com/

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