Newspapers / The Coastland Times (Manteo, … / Jan. 30, 1959, edition 1 / Page 3
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 30. 1959 COUNTY REPORT By DAVID STICK / Dare County Commissioner, Atlantic Township / At the last meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners preliminary steps were taken to i begin a county-wide crack-down on] delinquent taxpayers, and I think it is important for every interested citizen to know exactly what the status of tax collections is, and just what problems are faced in undertaking a mass collection of delinquent taxes. The last regular audit of the county books, for the period end ing June 30. 1958, showed a total of $100,642.53 in uncollected taxes, dating back to 1949. Approximate-, ly half of this total was for 1957, and the figure did not include de lincruent taxes it or the years prior to 1949. During the succeeding six months, and up to the time our new Board took office, more than 836,000. was collected, cutting the figure down to under $64,000. As of November 24, 1958 the de linquent taxes were as follows: 1957—516,911.57 1956 8,833.72 v 1955 7.929.01 1954 5,75896 1953 6,273.25 1952 4.427.27 1951 3,917.80 1960-*- 4,068.73 1949 6,189.67 These make a total of $63.303.98 in delinquent taxes, not counting the years prior to 1949 for which thousands of dollars in addition are still owed. With these figures in mind, here are the procedures set out by State law for the collection of taxes in Dare County. For purposes of sim plification, the year 1956 is used as an example. I.—ln January, 1956, each prop erty owner was required to list the amount of property, both real and personal, which he owned as of January 1, 1956. A tax lister, trained in his job and familiar with property in the area, was required to assist with the listing, and make certain that it was correct. In the case of non-residents, the listing was handled' by mail. ' 2.—As of February 1, 1956, an automatic penalty was added for every property owner who had failed to list. 3. —After February 1, 1956 the Tax Supervisor and his staff | checked all tax listings, comparing the listed information with deed books and other official records when questions arose. 4. —Before June 30, 1956, the Tax Supervisor provided the County Commissioners with figures show-: ing the total valuation of all prop-] erty listed in Dare County. Al ready fT ’“ were Be our guest for a pleasure test... and let Chevy do its own sweet talking! Before you decide on any neiv everything but its famous soundness. choose from, with compression car , here's the biggest break you MAGIC-MIRROR FI NISH-keeps ratios ranging U P t 0 1125 t 0 U can give your dollars — and your- its shine without waxing or polish- FULL COIL SUSPENSION— seIf: Drive a '59 Chevrolet. You'll ing for U P t 0 three years - }" !^ n ® d LTo(°lold find there's no reason to want a OVERHEAD CURVED Bteadier nde on any kind of road ’ ir «k/« m/nv j WINDSHIELD— and bigger win- TURBOGLIDE, POWERGLIDE, car that costs more—and no car dows _ all of Safety PWe Glass. AND LEVEL AIR suspension head you utm that cost, it*.! KE r D/CCER B«IFES-de.per « full 1M »I option, th.t Here are some of the things drums with better cooling for safer make * or happier dnvmg. Chevrolet will tell you about when stopping and up to 66% longer life. you drive it- HI-THRIFT 6- up to 10% more ROOMIER BODY BY FISHER— miles per gallon, more usable horse- yCffgrftOlCTJ more width for seating comfort, P oweratthe8 P eedsy « u dnvemost. more luggage space, and new in VIM-PACKED VB's —eight to See this bright new addition to the Chevrolet line—the Bel Air i-Door Sport Sedan ' • V., / / i • now—see the'wider selection of models at your local authorized Chevrolet dealer’s! MANUFACTURER'S LICENSE NO. 110 Hassell &. Crees Motor Co., Inc. PHONE 87 MANTEO.N.C. n. «. I worthing out a budget for the 1956- 57 fiscal year, and when the bud get was set a tax rate was arrived at which would provide the neces hary funds to meet the budget re quirements. They were permitted to add a small percentage to cover taxes which could not be collected becaose of errors in listing, but be yond that the tax rate was sup posed to provide just enough in come to pay the budgeted expenses lof operating the county. Obvious ly. even if the 'expenditures were kept within 'the budget, the books for that year would not balance if all of the anticipated revenue was not collected. And in 1956, as in many other years, a large amount of taxes were not collected, with the result that the county went still further in the hole. 5. —Following the setting of the tax rate the amount of tax owed by each property owner was fig ured, and in August and Septem ber, 1956 a notice of the amount of tax due was sent to each prop erty owner. These* taxes were pay able without penalty up to Febru ary 1, 1957. 6. —Beginning February 1, 1957, a monthly penalty—figuring out to 6% ner annum—was added to all uncollected 1956 taxes. 7. —ln August and September, 1957, all uncollected 1956 taxes were advertised for sale. 8. —Following the advertising, in September, 1957, all 1956 taxes still not collected, were offered for sale at the court house door. What was actually sold was not the per son’s property, but a lien against his property. The sale price in each instance included not only the un paid 1956 taxes, but the interest and the cost of the advertisements and sale. Where no individual came forward to buy the liens they were bought in by Dare County. 9. —Following the sale of the 1956 tax liens in the fall of 1957, the Delinquent Tax Collector was supposed to take possession of per sonal property sufficient to cover the amount of the tax lien, includ ing automobiles, television sets, , jewelry and other personal proper ty. In Dare County Mrs. Donis White is officially designated as , Delinquent Tax Collector. The trouble is, Mrs. White’s primary job is deputy and assistant to the i Sheriff. Apparantly she was desig i nated Delinquent Tax Collector be ; cause the law requires the county to have one, but there seems to i have been a general understanding ■ that she would hold the position I in name only, and that she was not expected to go out in the county ! to try to collect delinquent taxes, “l let alone attach cars or television ; sets or other personal property. I 10.—The law provides that in ; March, 1958, six months after the | sale of the 1956 tax liens, the ; County could begin actual fore ’ closure proceedings against delin iquent 1956 taxpayers. This is a •j function of the County Attorney, ■ at the direction of the County Com ! missioners. but no foreclosure pro The Beard Goes With The Job Hrr Wa ilpipi. M jjgg |gp - h L 4 i! Iff **' H' - t - •M.. v j ... , . . .. Photo ■ Courtesy Canadian National Railu-avs The beard goes with the job. Although Malcolm Taylor knows his wines from ordinary table varieties to Mod d Chandon ’47, he had to grow a neat beard and promise to keep it before he was given the irr J ■**"**& m th * Beaver Club of the $22,000,000 Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. If Taylor disposes of his beard, his job will go too. A wine steward, no matter how good he is, must have a beard, says Don Mumford, general manager of the “Q.E.’’ fns ceedings have been instituted in Dare County for more than ten years. This brings us up to date on 1956 taxes. By now Dare County should have collected the amount due, or taken possession of sufficient per sonal property to cover the debt, or foreclosed on the real estate of every person who listed taxes as of January 1, 1956. But there has been no attachment of personal property, and no foreclosure on $8,833.72 (as of two months ago) real estate, and the result is that was still uncollected for that sin gle year. Further, because this budgeted money has been spent but not collected, the county has gone further in the red. On the surface there are some pretty convincing arguments for not going through with these pro cedures. To begin with, the job of going around the county, knocking jon doors to collect delinquent (taxes, and taking possession of people’s cars and television 6ets and engagement rings, is not one designed to build up a wide circle (of friends for the individual con cerned. As for foreclosure, it is argued that there is no sense foreclosing until the attachment process has been followed through; that fore THE CO A STLAND TIMES, MANTEO, N. C. t closure is an expensive procedure, 1 and many of the pieces of property involved are not worth the cost; ] that many of the delinquent taxes ] are the result of improper or dupli cate listings; and that so much land nas been changing hands in : Dare County in recent years that ■! sooner or later practically every ] body has to pay uy his back taxes j in order to clear the title to his property. Finally, there are some 1 who say that the county is accum ulating interest on these uncol • lected taxes, and that in the long ] run we will be better off. ! All of these arguments, in my \ opinion, fail to take into considera tion the basic facts that the Coun , ty Commissioners are required to . collect the tax levy in order to bal ance the budget each year; that • some property owners are taking '! advantage of the situation as an ! easy means of borrowing money from Dare County at 6% interest, , payable if and when they like, and ; that certain property owners have , gotten the idea that they can con . tinue forever without paying their taxes, thus making the rest of us [ bear their part of the cost of op . erating the county, i I feel if people realize the coun ty is determined to collect these SOCIAL SECURITY I By ANNA K. RANKIN, Field Representative mnmmmJ By ANNA K. RANKIN Field Representative Self-employed persons are re minded to report their earnings for social security purposes with their income tax returns. Generally, these reports must be filed with Internal Revenue Service by April 16, 1959. Any person engaged in a trade, business, or profession covered by social security who has S4OO or more net profit from his business must report this income for social security purposes. Also, he must pay the 1958 social security 'self employment tax on his net earn ings up to $4,200 for 1958. The tax rate for self-employed persons on 1958 earnings is 3 3/8 percent. The payment of the social securi ty tax is mandatory and not volun tary. Often a self-employed person may have enough exemptions to result in his not owing any income tax, yet the net earnings from his business are S4OO or more, so he must pay the social security self employment tax. Failure to file an income tax re turn timely, and report earnings for social security purposes may result in his not having sufficient coverage to receive old-age insur ance benefits when he reaches re tirement age for payments to be to his survivors in the event of his death before age 65. For further information regard ing social security tax questions, consult the nearest Internal Reve nue Service Office. For informa tion regarding old-age, survivors, and disability benefits, contact your social security office at 220 W. Brambleton Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia. taxes or take over their property then many will pay up without the added expense of the foreclosure suits; and in the process those taxes listed as delinquent because of errors in listing, will be straight ened up and removed from the county books. I feel the County Commissioners are under legal and moral obligation to collect all back taxes, or attach the personal prop erty or foreclose on the real prop erty of those who refuse to pay up, regardless of how unpopular such a move would be. I feel that sufficient warning should be given to everyone listed as delinquent, so he can come to the courthouse and pay what he owes, or if there is an error, get it straightened out be fore his property is attached. But once that decent interval of time has passed, I think we should pro ceed rapidly to foreclose on the re mainder. And that is exactly what our new Board of Commissioners is making plans to do. MARRIAGE IS ANNOUNCED The marriage of Mrs. Ruth Flowers and Alfred T. Martin, both of Manteo, has recently been an nounced. The ceremony took place in Elizabeth City on December 15. Mrs. Martin is the daughter of W. R. Knight and the late Mrs. Leah Meekins Knight of Manteo. Mr. Martin is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Martin of Salem, Va„ and has made his home on Roanoke Island for several years. f ROANOKE ISLAND CLUB AND LODGE MEETINGS MASONS: Manteo Lodge, Sec ond and Fourth Monday Evenings, in Manteo Town Hall. Wanchese Lodge, First and Third Thursdays, Wanchese Lodge Hall. EASTERN STAR, Second and Fourth Thursday evenings in Wan chese Lodge Hall. ODDFELLOWS, Each Tuesday evening in Manteo Town Hall. REBEKAHS, First and Third Monday evenings, Manteo Town Hall. MANTEO ROTARY, each Mon day evening, and MANTEO LIONS, First and Third Tuesdays in Community Building. WANCHESE RURITAN, third Fridays, Wanchese schoolhouse. DEGREE OF POCAHONTAS; Second and Fourth Fridays. 7:80 p.m., Wanchese Masonic Hall. AMERICAN LEGION, Ft. Ra leigh Post No. 26, 2nd Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Community Bldg., Man ceo. ROANOKE ISLAND GARDEN CLUB meets at 2:30 in the after noon, first Thursday of each month, in the homes of members. MANTEO WOMAN’S CLUB, second Tuesday each month. Homes of members, 8 p.m. DARE CO. SHRINE CLUB, first Monday each month, 8:00 p.m., "lubhouse, Nags Head. THINKING ABOUT A NEW CAR? USEDCAR? See ARNOLD TOLSON representing Hassell & Crees Motor. Co. Phone Manteo 87 Ree. Phone: Nags Head 8132 EAST LAKE PERSONALS Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Spruill of Duck are here with their son, Joe Spruill. Chester Holmes of Norfolk was here Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. John Bowsman and daughters of Raleigh and Mr. and Mrs. Bennie Hewitt and daughters of Portsmouth spent the week end here with Mr. and Mrs. Lundy Twiford. Little Marian Ambrose has re turned after being a patient in Co lumbia hospital. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Overman of Norfolk were here Saturday. Mrs. Thelma Smith is a patient in Columbia hospital. Allen Mann of Manteo visited CALL MANTEO 46 for PROMPT DELIVERY of ECONOMICAL, DEPENDABLE HEATING OlLfw^aarr Tankful after tankful, the high quality of ESSO Heating Oil never changes. It always assures you top performance from your oil . ■— burner, always bums hot and clean. Switch to ESSO Heating Oil for dependable, economical home heating. Your family's comfort is our business. Call today for prompt service. DANIELS OIL COMPANY —Schenleu RESERVE I SOSO /i PINT $095 FIFTH Mg?** >**- ’ * ***tMtS Jchenlei| Jk SCWNUf BtSTILIttS Cl, K.T.C. • WNOCB WHISKY IT UEMMI • N fMOF. fcx CMDt KEBTIAIJPOSTS . PAGE THREE here Thursday; his mother, Mrs. Sina Mann accompanied him home. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Sawyer and Freddie of Norfolk spent Sunday here with relatives. Mr. and Mrs. Talmadge Bas night and daughter, Darlene of Elizabeth City visited relatives here Sunday. Irvin Ambrose, U. S. Coast Guard Berkley spent the week end here with his parents. Zo'&i \0 Ul 000
The Coastland Times (Manteo, N.C.)
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Jan. 30, 1959, edition 1
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