UPDATE 1-NJ delays budget vote after tax amnesty gains

(Adds details, comments from House majority leader)

By Jon Hurdle

TRENTON, New Jersey, June 18 (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine said on Thursday that the fiscal 2010 budget vote by the state legislature will be postponed until next Thursday because a tax amnesty program has yielded far more revenue than officials expected.

The two-month program that ended on June 15 has so far resulted in $600 million flowing into the state, about three times what was expected, Corzine told a news conference.

Corzine said there are still thousands of envelopes waiting to be opened and pledged that all of the proceeds would go toward property tax relief.

The proceeds from the windfall exceed any previous amnesty program in New Jersey and may be greater than any in the United States, Corzine said.

Louis Greenwald, chairman of the state House Budget Committee, said the program's success suggests people were persuaded to pay their back taxes by the removal of penalties and half of the interest.

The program, which was widely advertised, targeted people with New Jersey tax arrears outside the state as well as residents, said state Treasury spokesman Tom Vincz.

House Majority Leader Bonnie Watson-Coleman said the windfall may provide the latest indication that the state's economy is beginning to emerge from recession.