An ordinance that includes tax code changes was tabled Dec. 17 at the request of Councilman Joe Gibson. He asked for more time to review the proposals saying that although changes were described as minor, he thought the information was a lot to digest.
The proposed changes follow a review of department operations sparked by questioning of city handling of income tax returns and delinquent accounts. Those questions first were raised by a city resident almost a year ago when the council elected member John Kessler as its president.
Resident Scott Brownlee questioned if Kessler should have the position when a business in which he was a partner owed city taxes and why the city had not pursued taxes owed dating to 2007. Tour Great Miami was the operator of the Independent Voice newspaper, which closed in 2009.
Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co. of Springfield concluded “no special treatment” was given to Tour Great Miami and made a series of recommendations. Those recommendations included a more concerted tax collection monitoring and enforcement system.
Green earlier told council the office, which has two employees, traditionally has focused on processing returns versus collections.
“We are looking at re-prioritizing the daily work. We still have issues with two people (employed) in the department … but we recognize the fact that we also need to go a little more stringent on the collection side also,” he said.
More attention to collections would include looking at those who fail to file a return and/or fail to pay. The ordinance tabled would codify city income tax regulations, a step needed to create a specific code section to use in filing charges against delinquent filers.
The council has discussed an amnesty program. Tax amnesty programs have been used successfully recently by several Miami Valley communities including nearby Huber Heights.
During an amnesty program, those with delinquent filings or past due accounts are invited to visit the tax department to bring the account up to date. The programs usually offer to waive penalties and late fees for those who respond to the amnesty program, Green said. Among changes proposed were increasing the maximum fine for noncompliance from $500 to $1,000.
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