How about this tool to collect revenue proposed by the taxman:
Helms explained this change would expand an existing law. “The [revenue] secretary may issue a tax warrant to any revenue officer to seize and sell the personal property of delinquent taxpayers,” he said. “We typically use this authority to close businesses that are significantly behind in paying taxes collected from the public through the sales tax or withheld from employee pay.”
Last year, revenue officers used 187 tax warrants to collect $3.9 million, Helms said. But he said the current program has limited effectiveness in some cases.
“Over the last two years, we have run into several situations involving businesses that had little personal property or inven tory that the business actually owned, but that owned substantial real property,” Helms said,such as the building housing the business or other investment properties.
The Revenue Department can go after real property now, only with the help of local sheriff’s departments. The new proposal would bypass local law enforcement agencies to allow the revenue officer to seize and sell the property himself.
“Sometimes we back off of seizure sales if we are able to negotiate acceptable repayment terms with the debtor taxpayer,” Helms said. “The law does not provide these tools to the local sheriff’s offices.”
Sounds like a bit too much authority to me.
