Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-01-22
DELINQUENT CITY TAXES.
Richmond. Va. January 10. 1897.


To the Editor of the Dispatch
VIII YOU please inform me If the pro-
position to put an additional penalty
of per cent. interest. besides the
penalty Of per. cent. forfeit now eX-
listing on taxes now due is not Eek post
facto"-that Is. hasn't IL become law
since the taxes became due? If not, why
the penalty of per cent? As l under
stand il. the per cent. interest attach
ment Is of very late enactment II the
last half of the city tax for any one
year is subject TO a forfeit OF per cent.
additional because the first half of the
city taxes for the same year were not
maid before July LIST. can it be claimed
that the last half was not due then,
also? And If not due. then with what
rrace or by what right. can per cent.
forfeit be added for taxes not due until
the end of the year, and so. is not the
addition of per cent. interest. as said
above. OF such recent date as to make
il Eek post factOY
Was il not the Malone Legislature
which reduced the forfeit on city taxes
from 20 per cent. TO ) per cent? VIII
YOU kindly answer the above questions,
and oblige me very much? CIVIS.
We cannot see how the present City
Council can be held to be culpable for re-
curing the payment of per cent. in
terest upon delinquent tax bills. The cul-
inability is rather upon previous councils
which allowed the city to be kept out OF
dues for years and years. though the
charter provides that 6 per cent. interest
may be charged upon delinquent bills.
In the case of the Theatre property. it
recently came TO light that that property
bad paid no taxes from 1876 TO 1896, and all
the penalty that could be enforced by the
city was the regular per cent. penalty.
Not a cent did we get for being kept out
of our money for twenty years. The per
cent. was consumed in charges for ad-
vertising, selling, collection. etc.
The Theatre case brought into very
prominent notice the inefiiciency. not to
say absurdity, of our Delinquent tax-laws.
Instead of having penalties that would
induce taxpayers to pay up promptly, we
found that we had laws which actually
held out inducements 10 Taxpayers 10
withhold payments!
All city taxes are due by the SOth Of
June OF each year. That the city permits
the other half in December is a mere
matter OF grace-the whole bill is due
June Goth. Where the payments are not
made as specified i'm the ordinance, the
per cent. penalty accrues as OF June both.
If the.bill be paid at any time prior TO
February 1st the only penalty attached
will DO per cent; but if not paid by
February-qst, then the bill viii be passed
into thesfiands OF the Collector OF Delin-
auent Taxes. and thereafter interest will
be charged at the rate Of 6 per cent. per
annum.
These penalties do not seem excessive.
They are practically the same as the
penalties provided by Virginia for the
non-payment Of her taxes. Certainly.
our penalties are by no means as drastic
as those which obtain In the majority OF
the cities of this Union. IL they were
lighter. we do not see how Richmond
could prevent dilatory taxpayers from
taking unfair advantage OF her.
1t is simply question whether Rich
mond viii indulge delnquents and sub
feet herself 10 the necessity Of selling
bonds or making call-loans. or will i'm
pose penalties sufficient 10 make delin-
quency Improbable. Up to this time de-
iinquency has been actually profitable to
some Taxpayers.
80 hereafter whoever IS delinquent after
the LIST OF February VIII have 10 pay
per cent. penalty and 6 per cent IN
rerest: but there will be no other charges.
As we understand the matter. there ls
nothing "ex-post facto" about it-there
win be no charging OF interest upon any
bin until the LIST Of February of this
year.
we oanno. answer our correspondents
question about the Malone Legislature.
But we DO remember that many years
ago there was a penalty upon delinquent
city tax-pay greater than that under
which we have lately WORKED. IL II was %
per cent. Their II was certainly excessive.
A per cent. penalty and per cent. In
terest. beginning upon the lst day OF
February following Delinquency. seem TO
be reasonable.
II II not the wish OF the city that any
kman should Incur any penalty. The
cent. when paid, all goes In es-