NWOTCA
Meeting Date:
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at the Whitehouse Municipal
building at
On
Angie expressed concern at the meeting that the cities statewide were not appraised these issues were getting stirred up again.
OML
The OML meeting of
New services are focused on security features and streamlining the system for consistency throughout on behalf of preparers using the Gateway for various filings. Bulk filing will be in place in 2011 for payroll companies to download municipal filings into the system. They are also working to support a document imaging system.
Joe also spoke on the Finder system for updating addresses
throughout. There have been numerous
errors and getting the errors corrected has been difficult. Deb Cartledge of
The OML Seminar will be discussed at the next meeting
scheduled for
Other
It was agreed to move the May
NWOTCA meeting in Archbold to May 18th to follow the May OML meeting
for timely updates of issues discussed.
New Business
Guest speaker Michael Burke of
Scheer, Green and Burke, LPA began discussions on the collections process their
firm follows for collections of tax debt.
Initial letters are issued to
comply with fair debt collections standards and confirm accuracy of address
information. Further research is used to
locate taxpayers when there is no positive response. Second letters are sent before legal actions
(law suit after 28 days if no response) are taken. The third step would be the filing of a law
suit appropriate for debt to be collected.
Collection letters include an itemized statement of the balance
due.
Law suits filed in municipal court
would be in the municipality where the taxpayer resides. Amounts due over $15,000.00 go to common
pleas court. Most collections cases are
not contested and will receive a default judgment. If the case is contested, trial is scheduled
20 to 90 days after contested filing.
One of the attorneys from the firm will appear in court to represent the
municipality. Consent agreements can be
entered into at any time. The taxpayer
agrees to pay the amount due and a payment plan is entered into. A judgment allows the use of the courts to
seize assets. The paycheck of a debtor
is considered an asset and can be seized through a wage garnishment. The taxpayer is informed of such15 days prior
to the filing. A wage garnishment can
last up to 6 months or until the debt is paid.
When multiple wage garnishments are filed on a single debtor, only one
is permitted at a time; the remaining garnishments are then stacked. A wage garnishment can last longer than 6
months if the balance is not paid and there are no other garnishments
waiting. Wage garnishments are always
taken after standard tax deductions but before other deductions. Court costs are added to the debtors balance
as well as court allowed interest (per state rates). There is no dollar limit on garnishments (except
for allowable % per check) and they apply state wide. Suits can be filed locally and then
transferred to the resident’s municipal court.
Even large judgments from common pleas can be transferred to the municipal
court for a wage garnishment. Wage garnishment
is the most effective asset seizure.
Bank account garnishes can also be
used. The first $400.00 in the account
is exempt and funds from exempt sources like Social Security are also
prohibited from seizure. The debtor can
file a claim of exempt funds within a week of notification with bank statements
reflecting the exempt source deposits as the only deposits in the account. Other exempt sources include retirement,
pension, railroad retirement, and child support. Use of both wage and bank garnishments can be
deemed unfair as 25% of paycheck can be taken and then all but $400.00 in the
bank account.
A real estate judgment lien can
also filed with the clerk’s office in the resident county on all properties a
debtor owns. This lien last for 5 years
and is then re-filed for another 5 years up to a maximum of 21 years. These liens may not yield immediate funds and
may not yield any if the property is foreclosed. When the owner tries to sell the property,
the lien will need to be satisfied for transfer of clear title.
The Praecipe
can be used on license chattel, which would include autos, trucks, boats, farm
equipment and the like. These assets are not usually a good source of
satisfying debt because they are mobile and much more difficult to gain
possession of. Also, the common use of auto leases means there are fewer
vehicles actually owned by debtors. A
seized auto may also have less value that the amount owed on the vehicle.
The Praecipe
can also be used when an employer refuses to garnish the employee’s wages. Action can be taken against the employer who
will not comply.
Debtor exams can also be used
after judgments and they are filed with the courts. If the taxpayer fails to appear, a warrant is
issued. Burke’s fees are about 25%, filing
a lawsuit is $108.00, a wage garnishment is $40.00, a lien is $30.00 and
interest is 4%.
Discussed Topics
Jim Neusser briefly covered a few
topics on tax ordinances but will cover Return and Payment of Tax sections at
the next meeting.
Local ordinances need to state how
S-Corporations are taxed. They can be
taxed as C-corporations, or as pass-through entities, taxed at the owner
level. Municipalities taxing S-Corp
owners were to have twice taken the issue to the polls per ORC to determine if
they can continue to tax the owner’s share in full. If the issue did not pass, they would be
limited to only taxing
Lotteries will be more of an issue
now that the casinos legislation passed in
Jim also provided an additional
12-day rule flowchart for reference.
Comparison with the SWOTA chart on the NWOTCA website is
encouraged.
Information Exchange
In the information exchange, some
cities have instituted a trash fee for additional revenue.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be May 18th
in Archbold instead of the previously scheduled May 11th. This will enable more timely updates from the
May 14th OML meeting.