MIAMI (AP) - The teachers union in Miami-Dade County is proposing an innovative way to raise extra money for education.

At a news conference Tuesday, the union announced plans to call for a tax amnesty program that would encourage residents illegally claiming a homestead exemption to come clean.

Figures provided by a former Miami-Dade police major estimate there is approximately $280 million in uncollected taxes, about 40 percent of which would go toward education.

Washington state did a similar amnesty aimed at business scofflaws last year and received $320.7 million.

The teachers union says the revenue is needed to provide teachers with competitive salaries without raising taxes. The amnesty would include an advertising campaign linking tax evasion with the effect on school children, and would be followed up with higher penalties.

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