But the main result of REAP is that Massachusetts residents will now face a better coordinated tax collection bureaucracy that can pursue enforcement initiatives more freely than before.

For example, "Luxcar," the revenue department's latest initiative, tracked down 46 tax evaders who each owed the state more than $10,000 by running lists of state-registered Rolls-Royce and Mercedes owners through a specially designed computer program.

Although Massachusetts officials call the amnesty a "once in a lifetime offer," they stress that its benefits to the state are much more than short-term. "The real beauty of this is that all of the non-filers are now filers--this wasn't just a one-time windfall," says McHale. "We can count on this additional revenue from now on."

The key here is that non-filers who came forward during amnesty--whether tax evaders, who avoid paying taxes, or tax delinquents, who build up tax debts even though the state knows their identity--are now permanently on the state's rollbook. The amnesty is also valuable to the state as a barometer of its enforcement techniques, says Jackson. "We got a unique insight into the world of tax evaders and delinquents," he explains.

Uncle Sam Too?

Gregory Z. Smith, a public information officer for the Arizona Department of Revenue and the originator of the amnesty idea, cor, tends that tax amnesty can also work at the federal level, especially if federal tax enforcement is increased.

One of the main proponents of a federal tax amnesty on Capitol Hill now is Speaker of the House Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill (D-Mass.). But because the Internal Revenue Department and the Treasury oppose the amnesty in principle, and because the idea is so new, it is "too early to tell" whether it will catch on in Washington, says a policy analyst for the tax staff of the House Ways and Means Committee who declined to be identified.

"We're being pushed to look at [amnesty] more than we ever have," the tax analyst says. Although the analyst voices doubts about the ease with which an amnesty program could be implemented at the federal level, she adds that the success of Massachusetts's program has spurred important Washington officials to examine amnesty.

If the new plan can gain support from Congrees, she indicates a national amnesty program would be established within five years.