Tax dodgers must pay up — or else
Saturday, December 31, 2005 9:15 PM EST article source
Downright shameful. That’s the single thought we had when considering the extent of delinquent taxes owed to Lawrence County.
New Lawrence County Treasurer Stephen Dale Burcham shares that level of disgust.
Last week, Burcham announced the results of his “top 10” most delinquent tax dodgers. Although the list certainly contains some huge offenders, the list serves mainly to illustrate the breadth of the problem and draw attention to it.
Taxes are still owed on more than 7,500 parcels of land in the county. The total owed is more than $4.6 million.
*
That’s $4.6 million that would go back to the public good. Another way of looking at it is that the county has “loaned” some of its property owners $4.6 million.
It’s time those property owners paid up or lose their property.
The great bulk of the taxes would go to the county’s school districts. And with rare exception, the school districts are always in need of additional funds. They do an excellent job with what they have, but imagine what they could do with a few extra million.
Burcham and his staff deserve our thanks for jumping in with both feet. No one really likes the idea of having to pay taxes. However, for those who pay regularly and on time, few things are more infuriating than knowing others simply have shirked their civic responsibility.
In addition to just pointing out the problem, Burcham and staff are working to develop ways to help make the burden of paying taxes easier, too. New options will include paying at your local bank or working out a payment schedule to eliminate having one “lump” payment due.
Having someone in county government not afraid to push the envelope a little bit is refreshing. If public shame is what it takes to get some of these delinquent taxpayers to actually pay, so be it.
The amount of taxes still due is a disgrace. Not doing all within our power to get them to pay is worse. We’re glad Burcham and staff are working to resolve the problem.