Tax deadbeats will be listed by name on state website
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
As a follow-up to this spring's tax amnesty window, Pennsylvania's Revenue Department is publishing the names of 39,000 tax delinquents on its website.
The number of tax dodgers posted on the site is ten times as large as previous lists.
Before, the department only listed delinquent companies, but now, Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell says the site shows the names, home counties and lien amounts of individuals, as well.
"This is something that we don't do lightly," he says. "I don't like to be in a position where we have to embarrass people into doing the right thing. But sometimes sending the letter or making the phone call doesn't have the desired effect, and we don't have any other choice but to do that.
Governor Rendell promised to amp up efforts to collect delinquent taxes after this year's amnesty window, which brought in $261 million. The public list is part of that effort.
Rendell had promised to hire 40 new revenue collection agents, but the department suffered nearly $9 million in budget cuts, so Hassell says those new positions were never created.