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Show I Delinquency applies to ! more than just juveniles An interesting phenomenon is taking place in Park City. Every year the municipality and the school district collect ! a smaller percentage of property taxes owed them. Beyond I being interesting, this condition could spell trouble down the road. Five years ago tax collection rates in the Park City School District were close to 98 percent, a normal level of collection. Today that rate has slipped some 20 points and if the trend continues the district will collect even less next year. An almost identical trend can be seen in the Park City Municipal Corporation's tax statistics. Devising a budget might get a little difficult if tax collection collec-tion rates are unstable, as the school district and the city know all too well. Yet the trend should continue oecause it s a good business decision not to pay property taxes on time and some of this area's major developers, for one reason or another, would rather let their tax obligation slide. No one likes to pay taxes. And given a choice, why not pay later than now, especially if you can turn a buck in the deal? I Individuals and corporations are allowed by state law to be in arrears on property taxes for five years. That is the j law handed down by the Utah State Legislature and on the face of it seems to be fair. The Federal Reserve Board in Washington D.C. decides i annually what the penalty should be for delinquent taxes, j The interest rate it recommends every year is four or five i points lower than the prime lending rate. The state j legislature then rubber stamps that figure making it Utah Law. At seven or eight percent interest a year, delinquency t i becomes a bargain. Every state in the Union has property tax statutes very similar to Utah's and in fact these laws work quite well across the country. But in Park City, where development is just under boom-town boom-town levels, things are different. New housing projects have spread up the hills and out toward Kimball Junction in the last five years. But while the demand for services nas increased during that time, the collection rates have decreased. A quick perusal of the delinquent tax list reveals that the area's major developers are indeed responsible for much of the outstanding taxes owed the school board and the municipality. Something should be done to remind holders of property who are in arrears on taxes. The county treasurer suggests a notification or awareness program to let these people or corporations, who may be unaware that they owe taxes, know they are delinquent in tax payments. It would seem that responsible developers would appreciate ap-preciate this kind of reminder and would not want to turn a profit at the expense of Park City and the Park City School District. But appealing to the civic pride of developers will only go so far. Clearly, laws that encourage delinquency in tax payments to be a bargain must be changed. Municipalities, school districts and other taxing units should take the initiative for prodding the state and federal governments into correcting these inequities. -CS ISRt 1HATWONPERFUL,PBR,OUR WJWiRSTHE HW I fNCH0RW0MAW AT CHANNEL SIX... I WeeMy Specnal IIMMHIPMMM |