Second Tax Deadline Looms

DELINQUENT LIST TO BE PUBLISHED SOON

By Scott F Davis

Posted: November 4, 2009 at 4:54 a.m.

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FAYETTEVILLE — A second deadline looms for delinquent Washington County taxpayers seeking to avoid the embarrassment of having their friends, neighbors and relatives read their name in the newspaper.

Any taxpayer who has not paid their past due taxes by Nov. 18 will be included in delinquent tax list to be published Nov. 22, said Washington County Collector David Ru◊.

Because of the recent newspaper merger, the delinquent lists will be published in both the Northwest Arkansas Times and the Springdale Morning News, o◊cials said.

Personal and real estate taxes are due each year on Oct. 10, but the deadline this year was extended until Oct. 13 because the deadline fell on Saturday and Monday was a holiday. Anyone who pays after the deadline owes a 10 percent late fee and other charges.

Many people who miss the tax deadline for penalties will make an e◊ort to keep their names out of the paper, which is one reason why Ru◊sends out reminder letters.

Another reason is because it saves money to publish fewer names, he said. State law requires a list of all delinquent taxes to be published in a local newspaper.

“There are a lot of people who are really concerned about having their name in the paper,” Ru◊said. “There seem to be a growing number who could care less.”

More than 35,000 tax bills are currently delinquent, hesaid Tuesday. This includes all delinquent real estate property tax parcels and personal property tax bills.

Ru◊said he is sending out about 3,800 reminder letters this week to all taxpayers who owe more than $250 in combined delinquent taxes. He said it’s not feasible to send letters out to everyone who is delinquent because of the high cost of mailing so many letters.

“It should hit most of the people with real estate,” he said.

Taxpayers who owe less than $250 generally have not paid their personal property taxes, he said. Most of these people will have to pay when they get their vehicle tags, he said.

In spite of the difficult economic times, both current and delinquent tax collections are up this year, he said. Current tax collections of the total taxes due are up from 89.7 percent in 2008 to 91.5 percent in 2009, according to a report by the collector’s o◊ce through Oct. 31 of each year.

Delinquent tax collections through Oct. 31 are up by $380,520 from $5.7 million in 2008 to almost $6.1 million in 2009, according to the report.

News, Pages 3 on 11/04/2009

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