Late tax notices irk residents
Sandra Solow placed a message on social media Tuesday morning, asking for responses from Washington School District residents who received a delinquent tax notice from Keystone Collections Group.
Within six hours, she received more than 90 responses, many questioning the validity of the notices.
“This company is going to make tons of money from all these people who pay it just to have it not go to collections,” Solow said. “In my opinion, these people don’t have their stuff together.”
The district levies a $10 per capita tax on all city residents with incomes of $2,000 or more. Keystone Collections recently sent out a slew of notices to collect, including an $11-a-year Act 192 penalty for failure to pay on time.
Solow said she was told by a Keystone employee that “(they’re) thinking some of us didn’t receive the bill and they are now playing catch-up.”
Resident Christina Lemley said she doesn’t think Keystone sent out the bills.
“I think a lot of us have not been charged yearly for the per capita tax and now we’re getting charged with all these penalities,” Lemley said. “We just want to make sure we’re being charged correctly.”
Richard Mancini, director of Washington School District operations, received three or four calls Tuesday about the notices, prompting him to call the collection agency. He said he was assured by a Keystone manager the situation was being handled appropriately.
“I have no problem paying it if it’s owed,” Solow said. “But they’re now saying, ‘We’re going to penalize you for not doing our job.’ It’s a lot of leg work to figure out, ‘Did I pay or did I not?’ If they don’t have their stuff together, it’s just ridiculous.”
Keystone took over the school district’s per capita collection in 2012 after the former collection agency, Central Tax Bureau of Pennsylvania, ceased operations.
Keystone emailed the following message Tuesday afternoon, attributed to Joseph W. Lazzaro, vice president and general counsel:
“Keystone bills the current per capita tax annually for residents of the school district. Keystone audited the payment history and sent reminder notices and delinquency bills to residents who failed to pay their original bills.
“While most residents pay their per capita tax, the tax officer and the taxing authority are obligated to even the playing field, in fairness, and collect the tax from those who failed to pay on time. Keystone mailed 9,279 notices covering all years of delinquency. The penalty for not paying the tax is the same for each delinquent year. To date, there is no interest charged on any of these unpaid accounts. Residents who fail to pay their per capita taxes on a timely basis face statutory penalty and Act 192 costs, under Pennsylvania law.”
The notice advised residents to direct questions and comments to www.keystonecollects.com.