Two Charged With Stealing Tax Payments

A mailroom worker at the state Department of Revenue has admitted she helped take money orders sent in by Georgians to pay their taxes. Constance Morgan, 44, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the state in Fulton County Superior Court. Her accomplice, Terry Richardson, 46, pled guilty to a similar charge on April 2. State revenue officials say Morgan took five money orders sent in to pay taxes and gave them to Richardson to alter and cash. Morgan and Richardson were each sentenced to five year probated sentences and ordered to complete 360 hours of community service. They must also pay restitution and fines. Morgan and Richardson both live in East Point, Ga.

(Associated Press)

Steep Drop in Feb. Tax Collections

Georgia tax collections took a nosedive in February.

State money managers reported Friday that revenues plummeted a whopping 34.8 percent, tumbling $336 million from the same month the year before.

Tax collections are down 7.3 percent for the fiscal year set that ends June 30.

Gov. Sonny Perdue already has ordered deep spending cuts to make up the state's widening budget gap.

He warned earlier this week that February's numbers would be grim. He said the state has seen a surge in Georgians filing tax returns earlier, which has meant the state has been sending more tax returns out the door.

(AP)

State House Dems Unveil $1B Revenue Plan

Georgia House Democrats say they have a plan to generate $1 billion or more for the state-without raising taxes.

The measure targets the collection of sales taxes in Georgia. It calls for a transfer of control from the state Department of Revenue-to local governments. Local governments could then contract private firms for collection.

House Democrats say currently, hundreds of millions of dollars in uncollected tax revenue slips between the cracks in Georgia’s collection system.

House Democratic Caucus Chair Calvin Smyre of Columbus says local government control would eliminate excess costs in the revenue collection process:

"This is an efficiency in government...streamlining government...providing additional revenues for our budgetary woes that are facing the state of Georgia. We think this is a very-very first step toward reforming our tax codes."

House Democrats say a similar plan in Alabama has already netted that state a spike of more than $1 billion.

House Bill 356 made its debut at the State Capitol today-its sponsor is Democrat Virgil Fludd of Tyrone.

Drivers get gas pump bonus on Jan. 1

Georgia drivers will get a New Year’s gift at the gas pump starting Thursday as the state fuel tax drops by about 4 cents. Every six months the state Department of Revenue resets the gas tax--the state portion of taxes will fall from 11 cents, to 7.1 cents per gallon. That will also result in a drop in local sales taxes on gasoline. Drivers in Georgia and across the nation have been enjoying tumbling prices at the pump for the past couple of months. According to the Triple-A Fuel Gauge Report, the average for a gallon of regular unleaded in Georgia stands at $1.51.

Two new scams arise

The state Department of Revenue is warning Georgians of two new scams. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the scams involve fake checks. In one scam, people get a letter with a phony check worth $50,000 allegedly issued by the DOR. The second scam involves people getting checks from a company called AIRSERV with inaccurate banking information.

Local Officials to Leap Year: Thanks A Lot!

Local tax revenues declined in some areas by as much as twenty two percent this past month. Yet most of that shortfall is being blamed on an accounting glitch at the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Officials at the DOR say a leap year glitch is responsible for the revenue declines this month.

When consumers pay sales tax, retailers send that money every month to the DOR. From there, checks are cut and sent back to local municipalities.

This February there was an extra day. According to the DOR, the 29th day of February caused some discrepancies.

In the end several Georgia Municipalities were surprised with a twenty percent reduction in revenues. The underpayment seriously stressed out some city managers, who were bracing for a smaller reduction because of the stagnant economy. It’s unclear if there are any long term consequences of the underpayment. The DOR hopes to have the money to the local governments by next month.

State to audit tax collections

The state is auditing how it processed income taxes this year. Some lawmakers accuse Governor Sonny Perdue’s administration of cashing April income tax checks too slowly. They say that make it look like Georgia couldn’t afford a 142-million dollar tax break. Governor Perdue vetoed that tax break in May. But a few weeks later, the Department of Revenue reported a 45% increase in income tax collections.