Letter to the editor: Tax cheats should be forced to pay

I was shocked when reading the Highlands School District delinquent taxpayer list — not only by the sheer number of people who haven’t paid their taxes, but the amounts, many over $10,000. Clearly some people have not been paying their taxes for years, and nothing happens to them, other than getting their name published, buried on the school district website.

According to the Trib, a law firm is supposed to collect delinquent taxes, so its staff either is not doing their job or they don’t know how to file a tax lien against a property. If a taxpayer doesn’t pay for a certain time period or dollar amount, the lawyers could initiate a sheriff’s sale to force them to pay and to be a deterrent to others.

The school board has an obligation to those of us who pay our taxes and to the students to collect from everyone. Publishing delinquent taxpayers’ names is a good start; their property addresses should also be listed.

I hope they consider taking stronger action against tax cheats vs. raising taxes on those of us who are responsible citizens.

Paul I. Nichols Jr.

Harrison