You pay what you're supposed to. He does wish more people would attend commission meetings and question the use of taxpayer money. Beverly Buchanan is the tax collector in Jackson County and has worked in that office for 19 years. She says the stereotype of who pays and who doesn't is typically misconstrued. Lightner said another effective way to collect taxes when real estate markets are active is to work extra hard to get to new owners.
Macon County makes a point to try and track down the owners when real estate changes hands.
Almost all tax offices say their offices are understaffed. And when it comes to collecting motor vehicle taxes, the problems are compounded. Motor vehicle tax collections are handled through county tax offices but come due according to the month in which the car was purchased. In Haywood County for example, there are about 65,000 motor vehicles and 49,000 real and property tax parcels. In fact, so many people are late paying their automobile taxes that they almost always bring down the county collection rate.