The Vermont Department of Taxes will begin issuing lists by end of the year of 100 individual taxpayers and 100 business taxpayers with the highest amounts of unpaid tax debt, the state announced Sept. 8. A new law, Act 174, enacted in June 2014 grants Vermont’s commissioner of taxes the ability to compile and publish these lists as another way to obtain compliance from taxpayers. The lists will be published publicly on the department website.
More than 28 states publish lists of delinquent taxpayers. Because these states have found this tactic to be an effective tool to compel those with tax debt to finally pay up, Vermont hopes it will achieve similar results.
“It is important that all taxpayers in Vermont pay their taxes in a timely manner in order for our state to provide the public services Vermonters need and want,” said Tax Commissioner Mary Peterson. “Although most taxpayers voluntarily pay their taxes on time and in full, we do have a number of taxpayers who have high tax bills outstanding, even after repeated attempts by the department to collect. This new law gives us another tool to compel taxpayers to pay what they owe.”
Over the next few weeks, the department will begin notifying taxpayers who have been identified as having levels of tax debt that would potentially place them on one of the top 100 lists. They will be offered a final opportunity to pay their outstanding tax debts, avoiding publication on the lists. Each list will include the name and address of the delinquent taxpayer. Taxpayers named on the lists either have accepted the department’s assessments of taxes owed or have already exhausted all appeals and remedies available under Vermont law.
For more information about the delinquency lists and taxpayer notification, contact the Compliance Division of the Vermont Department of Taxes at (866) 437-2750 (toll-free).
