PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has collected more than $1 million from tax delinquents so far through the state's tax amnesty program, state Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said yesterday.

The bulk of the money has come from "a lot of small cases" involving personal income tax and some business tax -- such as corporate income tax or sales tax, he said.

"We haven't seen any large taxpayers yet, but they'll probably wait until the last two weeks, like they normally do in amnesty programs," Sullivan said in an interview at state tax agency headquarters in Providence.

The amnesty program was created through legislation approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Carcieri in June. The program took effect July 15 and runs through the end of this month.

Someone who voluntarily pays back taxes while the amnesty window is open will have to pay any interest due, but will escape penalty and prosecution. (The interest rate, currently 12 percent, will jump to 18 percent on Oct. 1, after the amnesty window closes.)

The amnesty is open to businesses and individuals, residents and nonresidents alike. It applies to all types of Rhode Island tax, such as personal income tax, sales and use tax, corporate tax and withholding tax.

Among those who might take advantage of the amnesty are people who fell behind on their tax obligations or who failed to file in a given year, Sullivan said.

"It's a great opportunity . . . for you to come forward and clear everything up, get a fresh start," he said.

In the last such amnesty program, in 1996, Rhode Island collected about $7.9 million in delinquent taxes, according to data from the Federation of Tax Administrators, an association of tax agencies representing the 50 states and certain other jurisdictions.

The bulk of that was collected in the last week of the amnesty, Sullivan said.

Money collected through the current amnesty goes into the state's general fund.

To obtain a tax amnesty application, or for more information, call the Rhode Island Division of Taxation at (401) 222-2957, or use the agency's Web site:

www.tax.ri.gov

ndowning@projo.com/(401) 277-7640