Everybody hates paying taxes.
It’s a story as old as time itself. People hated paying taxes in the Bible. They hated paying taxes in Robin Hood’s day. They hate the Internal Revenue Service.
Except government. Government loves getting tax money. They might be skittish about passing the tax rate and loudly trumpet when they don’t raise it, but seeing how much money comes pouring in from sales tax and income tax and this tax and that tax? The seats of power never seem to mind having those purses full.
And so what’s happening now is so weird, it’s almost unsettling. It’s topsy-turvy. It’s a world gone mad.
People are paying too much.
Westmoreland County commissioners gave residents an extended deadline for the 2% property tax discount this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The idea was that it would give those taxpayers a little extra breathing room at a time when lots of people are dealing with layoffs or lower hours or disrupted schedules, not to mention some higher costs or medical bills.
That was a great gesture. Nice job, people. That extra four months — a deadline pushed from April 30 to August 31 — might be exactly what someone needs to make it through a tough situation.
The thing is, not everybody took the discount.
According to the county, most people who sent checks in May or June paid the whole bill.
The tax collectors are in a pickle because they aren’t prepared for this. It’s a problem because they can’t just take a check for $1,000 and send back $20. They have to send back the whole payment with an explanation and ask for a new check with the correct amount.
Tax collectors like Penn Township’s Larry Wojcik are understandably overwhelmed by the extra work. More than $18.6 million has been received just since May 1, and most of that has had to be returned to sender.
But while that’s a lot of extra work and postage, there is something great about it, too.
This is how government is supposed to work. It’s a give and take of money and service, but it’s also about responsibility on both sides. People stepped up in a pandemic and paid their taxes on time — and government is being both understanding and honest.
There’s a lot of focus on the escalating comedy of errors that 2020 seems to be, but maybe there’s a little hope for this year after all.
