The New Hampshire Sunday News is not a big fan of taxes. We think they should be kept to an absolute minimum. They should be locally raised and locally spent, thus ensuring some measure of local control and oversight.
That said, we believe taxes should be levied fairly and collected equitably. It is tax collectors and boards of selectmen who are regularly charged with that responsibility, but as some of our recent stories have revealed, there are some whose actions are questionable.
In the little town of Windsor, two couples have filed suit, alleging that the former tax collector allowed “friends and family” privileges in which they didn’t have to pay their taxes for years and were charged no interest nor had their property attached.
As a result of the couples’ action, the attorney general is now investigating and an audit has been done. It has also come to light that the state Department of Revenue Administration has known for years that something was not right in Windsor.
You would think other taxpayers in the community would be happy that the two couples took action. But instead, current town officials and others are now complaining that the lawsuit is costing them money. (Helpful hint to these people: try SETTLING the suit.)
The Windsor saga led to last Sunday’s report about a Warren selectman who owes as much as $25,000 in taxes, dating back to 2003.
In this case, the town tax collector wonders whether board chairman Michael Clark should be passing judgment on other delinquent taxpayers.
That’s a good question, one of several that the Sunday News asked. In response, Clark told the Sunday News that he has a repayment plan (it appeared to be news to the tax collector) and that he made a payment (the first since last year) on the very day our reporter contacted him.
Kevin Clougherty, new commissioner of the Department of Revenue Administration, acknowledges that the DRA has general oversight of local tax collectors. He says he is open to reinstating random municipal audits, something the state stopped doing more than 20 years ago.
We are not sure that the answer is so much “at random” audits as it is a strict “at attention” policy by the DRA. Clougherty’s predecessor has said the DRA noticed irregularities dating back to 1986 and had been trying to get action from the town since 2002.