Elderly Couple Could Lose Home Over $1.63 Tax Bill

Meg Marco — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:28:41 EDT

In 1996 a property tax bill for $1.63 was mailed to Kermit and Dolores Atwood. The bill never reached its destination, according to the Times-Picayune. Now, 11 years later, the Atwoods are in danger of losing their home.

The Atwoods' nightmare began when they learned in 2000 that their four-bedroom, two-bath home had been sold in 1997 through a tax sale for the $1.63 in unpaid taxes, plus 10 cents interest and $125 in costs associated with the sale.
"We found out about it seven days after the three-year redemption period ended," during which delinquent taxpayers can reclaim their property, Atwood said. She then complained to the sheriff's and assessor's offices that she never received the bill and knew nothing about it.

The house, which the couple has owned mortgage-free since 1968, previously was totally state homestead exempt, meaning there was no tax bill, Atwood said. The couple's mailing address during that time changed from a rural route and mailbox number to 4122 Dauphine St. because of the implementation of the parish's 911 emergency phone system. The tax bill mailed to the rural route address was returned as undeliverable to the Sheriff's Office which, after advertisements of delinquent taxes in the parish's legal journal, put the property on the auction block.

"The Sheriff's Office could have easily found us," Atwood said. "We're in the phone book. We didn't go anywhere ... And we never thought about telling the assessor's office about our address change because we've never had to pay property taxes before."

The couple got the state tax commission to nullify the sale and they thought everything was alright. It wasn't. In 2002, they tried to sell their home and found that there was a "notice of pending litigation" on the property. The people who bought the house in the tax sale are suing to get the Atwoods out of it.

It gets worse. When hurricane Katrina hit, it toppled trees into the Atwood's home. Since they don't have a clear title on their house, they couldn't qualify for a mortgage to fix the damage. They don't have insurance. The Atwoods now live in a FEMA trailer while they battle it out in court. What terrible luck.

Elderly couple's lives in limbo over unpaid $1.63 tax bill [Times Picayune]
(Photo:Scott Threkeld)

TSA To Airlines: "You Owe Us $219 Million"

Meg Marco — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 09:53:25 EDT

The airlines have been under-paying their airport security bill to the tune of $219 million according to the TSA. From the Baltimore Sun:

Southwest owes the most, $54 million, followed by AMR Corp.'s American at $40 million and Delta Air Lines Inc. at $32 million, said Ellen Howe, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman. The carriers will face penalties if they don't pay or arrange to do so in 30 days, she said.
...
US Airways Group Inc. owes $18 million; UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, $15 million; Continental Airlines Inc., $14 million; Northwest Airlines Corp., $9 million; and America West Airlines, now part of US Airways, $8 million, Howe said

According to the airlines, the fees are excessive, and they're refusing to pay them. It all stems from the way the TSA's budget is calculated. The airlines are responsible for paying fees based on an estimation of what it cost them to run airport security in 2000. The airlines say it cost $300 million, the TSA says the real figure is closer to $750 million.

"We believe it is time for the TSA to develop a new system for allocating these costs, which is based on 2000 market shares," said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, the world's largest airline. "This old system is fundamentally unfair."
"We are reviewing our legal options," said Pete Scales, a United spokesman.

Hey, someone's got to pay for all those little gray tubs. —MEGHANN MARCO

Airlines get $219 million bill from TSA [Baltimore Sun]
(Photo: Bob Reck)

Consumerist: unpaid bills

Elderly Couple Could Lose Home Over $1.63 Tax Bill

TSA To Airlines: "You Owe Us $219 Million"