The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-23
Tax Warrants Will
Be Out in Less
Than a Month.
You PAY OR GET PINCHED.
Receiver Kept in a Fever
By Poll Tax Delin-
quents.

Little more than month remains
before the tax warrant for 1899 will be
placed in the hands of the city treas
urer and the collection of taxes for
this season will be fairly opened.
The ordinary taxpayer is liable to
give little consideration to the matter
of when taxes are due, unless he hap
pens to be owner of considerable real
estate, In that case interest, which
mounts to considerable in case of delay
in payment, is apt to set him thinking
and cause the date when payment is
required to become indelibly fixed in his
memory.
All taxes are due as soon as the tax
warrant is placed in the hands of the
receiver of taxes. The law fixes this
GATE on September l, and from this
time until October TO- the last day of
grace, after which tax bills begin to
draw interest at the rate of Z per cent,
clerks In the Htreasurer's office are kept
busy receiving the dollars that go to
| pay the. expenses of the municipality
Ii is only necessary to call at city
| hall on the 10th day of October to gain
a good idea of the number of persons
who wait until the last moment before
paying their annual contribution to-
| ward the city's support. AS a general
| thing this gathering partakes some
| what or the nature of a crowd in front
| OF the ticket wagon, when a popular
| circus strikes town, Old and young, rich
| ana poor, take places in this line which
sometimes numbers several hundred
| ana move up. one at a time, to the
reasurer's window. just why men, ap.
parently abundantly able to pay thei
tax bill at any season, will wait unit
the last moment and then rush In witt
the crowd, standing in Nne for an houl
or more, perhaps, is a question no
readily understood.
Printed notices are sent out on thu
last day of September notifying own
ers of real estate that their take,
should be paid on or before Oct. TO- il
order to save interest, which will b.
charged at the rate of Z per cent on al
bills remaining unpaid after this date
On Oct. 20 summons is served on al
delinquents, which costs the taxpaye
20 cents in addition to accrued interes
from Oct 10.
Other summons follow until the fol
lowing month of May or June, whel
the property is advertised for sale, ant
after a certain period of time goes un
der the hammer, unless the owner cal
arrange to get the necessary funds to
gether wherewith to liquidate his OBJ
legation. This year when the date 70
advertisement came around there wer
about 800 unpaid tax bills on hand. A
the present time all have been settlet
| with the exception of about 200.
| 10
said to have continuous case of wor
ry. Some men will not pay poll ta
If they can possibly avoid it, At least
that seems to be the disposition il
many instances. The only way to ge
at such men is by following them con
tinually, and this is what is done. If
after a reasonable amount of persua
sion, the delinquent fails to answer thu
| summons, summary proceedings follow
and the individual who is unwilling t,
part with 81 for the sake of privilege,
enjoyed with his fellowmen, finds him
self behind the bars in the county Jail
where he remains until some friend car
| hustle around and get together the ne
| cessary funds to settle the bill, witt
the additional charges resulting from
interest, cost of legal proceedings, anC
the board bill while the unfortunate is
| in Jail.
/ AllOtllGT T6dSOH WHY HldIly men escape
paying poll tax is on account of in.
ability of the assessors to locate them
Many TIM householders fail to give
necessary Information regarding in.
mates of their residence with the idea
of saving their friends from paying
taxes; but there are many ways in
which these men can be located and in
a great majority of cases they are
eventually confronted with their tax
bill
| There are many instances where tax
payers change their residence from year
to year, and through some misunder-
standing or other. are skipped by the
| assessors. Other men leave the city
and. taken from all standpoints, a
matter of locating poll tax payers is
not an easy one.
Still another phase of the tax assess
ment is when the individual who has
been voter and resident of the city
for years, is inadvertently dropped
from the list of voters. When the time
for registration comes around, this man
may take the precaution to look over
the voting list, and, finding his name
missing, goes cunning for the unlucky
assessor. In case of this sort, while
the assessor may be satisfied in his own
mind that the individual is qualified to
vote in the city, it is necessary to go
through tne same form OF assessment
and registration as though he had never
enjoyed the privilege of a voter.
Instances of this sort are frequent
every year, and while the tax payer
who has been overlooked through no
fault of his own, is liable to get a little
excited, still there is but one course
open for the assessors. The unfortu-
nate must secure two voters in his ward
to go before the assessor and take oath
L. .
the city and ward on the first day of
May preceding. He is then assessed,
and goes before the registrars to have
his name replaced on the voting list
Meanwhile, the work of collection
goes on. The next step and last is the
sale of parcels of property on which
taxes have not been paid, which takes
place Aug. IL.
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