Tax collections down in Howard County

Howard County tax collections this spring were down when compared to previous years as a result of Chrysler LLC not paying $6.1 million in personal property taxes.

"It was a good collection year, except for companies in bankruptcy," Howard County Treasurer Martha Lake said.

Lake said payment of the spring taxes by residential property owners were about the same as in the past two years.

Of the $41.1 million due in June, a total of $32.3 million, or 79 percent, of the taxes were paid. If the Chrysler personal property taxes are deducted from the amount, the percentage paid increases to 93.5.

"Chrysler is a lot of it," Lake said of the decline in tax collections. "There was a minor decline in some of the townships. The 2008-pay-2009 figure is misleading."

For 2006 taxes payable in 2007, the collection rate was 97.8 percent. Of the $50.2 million due, $49.2 million was paid.

The collection rate for 2007 payable in 2008 was 96.4 percent. The county collected $42.8 million of the $44.4 million that was to be paid.

There is a 5 percent penalty on unpaid taxes during the first 30 days of a missed penalty. That increases to 10 percent after the 30 days has expired.

Lake said some business properties like Continental Steel have gone unpaid for several years and are not likely to be paid. Taxes on the Continental Steel property have gone unpaid since 2005 payable in 2006.