Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-29
Jurat Must Be Executed by
Persons Waving Claim on
Erroneous Payments.
DESIGNED TO PREVENT
UNAUTHORIZED PAYMENT
Richards Objects to Rule Because
Notary Must Certify to Person
ally Known Clause.

Further safeguards will be thrown
around the Districts accumulated tax
refund account June /. as result Of
the adoption at the auditors Office of
new iurat to be executed by persons
waving claim to refunds on enormously
paid taxes. it was learned today at the
District Building.
The new iurat is designed to prevent
unauthorized persons from collecting
tax refunds credited to property owners
who have made an overpayment on a
tax bill. Its adoption, however. was
preceded by considerable correspondence
between the auditors Office and the
Office of the tax assessor, due to the
belief of Tax Assessor William P
Richards that another obstacle would
be placed in the path of persons seek
ing to collect the refund
Tax Assessor Richards chief objec-
ton to the new jurat was that it re-
Quires the notary executing a refund
voucher to certify that the applicant
is personally known to him. He is Won
dering, how many taxpayers, who are
entitled to refunds. can find a notary
who is personally known to them. The
auditors Office, however, insists that
the new jurat is drawn in accordance
with all such legal documents, and will
remove the possibility of the tax re-
funds being collected by persons not
entitled to them.
Satisfied With Old System.
Mr.. Richards was satisfied that the
system of making refunds adopted
more than year ago, served as sat-
isfactory check on persons making
claims for return of overpaid taxes,
but said he finally acquiesced in ap-
proving the new form of jurat at the
insistence of the auditors Office. Com
munications now mailed to parties en-
titled to refunds suggesting that they
| make claim for a return of the over
paid taxes, coupled with the properly
executed af1davits, it was contended,
are sufficient means of Identification.
A. r. Pilkerton, assistant principal
auditor, declared, however, he did not
believe with the reasoning in this re-
spect, and neither did he believe it to
be a good policy for the notaries in
the District Government to take the
| acknowledgements of individuals con-
cerned in a refund from the District
unless they are personally known to be
| the party making the affidavit. Why"
he asked Mr.. Richards, should the
District be burdened with the expense
of correcting the mistakes Of indivi-
duals?"
Honesty Was Motive.
Mr.. Pilkerton's question. inspired Mr.
Richards to write a 300-word letter to
Mai. Daniel j. Donovan, auditor and
budget officer pointing out that honesty
as well as desire to clear the records
OF duplicate or erroneous accounts
motivated his Office to find the tax
payers entitled to refunds.
For the last two years." Mr.. Rich
ards wrote, this Office has been pur-
suing new policy of trying to handle
repayments by finding the proper in
dividual to whom the money was due
and thereby clearing the record of
duplicate or erroneous accounts.
1T is known that there are many
thousands of dollars of aged duplica-
tions, where the money is still in the
Treasury. no effort having been made
to find the parties to whom the money
was due.
"On account of the extra work. in
volved in notifying people and obtain
ing waivers it has been suggested this
Office that the District is in no way
bound to search for persons or to no.
tify them that the money is due from
wrong or duplicate payment.
Oversight of individuals.
I'm the ordinary line of business we
may suppose that one individual by
some oversight exceeded his payment
to some other individual. or that one
individual in receiving change did not
discover the affair until too late to
remedy the mistake: If the party who
received the advantage of the over
payment knew the fact and failed to
notify the other party thereby pocket
ing something to which he had no
right. it would not be unjust to stigma
tie such person as being capable of
crooked methods. What can be said of
fla~ aaFs = oRf If 4I1o
trict Government to withhold money
fairly due some one else when the Dis
trict knows of the circumstances and
when the other party is ignorant OF
what has happened?
1T has been suggested that the Dis
trict take steps to prevent duplication
and errors, and in reply it can be said
the District does go to great length
to prevent such things and could go
further lengths, but the remedy might
be worse than the disease. 1t Is held
that there Is no other way to straight
en- out these erroneous payments. dupli-
cate payments, etc. except through the
line of action now being followed of
notification and return of money under
certain restrictions, and it is submitted
that these restrictions should not be
of such nature as to prevent business
like action.
1T is agreed by this Office that some
such form of jurat as proposed by the
auditor will be proper TO use. but it IS
recommended that on account OF GER
tain affidavitS having been received
through the mail for some time to come
it would be doing duplicate work, or
throwing away some of the past work,
to attempt to take up old accounts.
1t is therefore recommended that the
new juyat start on June /, this year"
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