Simitian Pushes Partial Payment Option for County Taxpayers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAN JOSE –Santa Clara County residents who are struggling to pay their property taxes will soon get a bit of relief, thanks to action taken by the Board of Supervisors today. On a motion by County Supervisor Joe Simitian, the Board directed the County administration to develop a plan for accepting partial payments on property tax bills. Currently, the County only accepts payment in full.
"As things stand now, if a person is having a rough patch and sends a property tax payment even one cent less than the total amount owed, we send that payment back – and then threaten them with a ten percent penalty on the whole amount if they don't pay up," said Supervisor Joe Simitian, who drafted the Board's action. "It seemed to me that we ought to be encouraging taxpayers who are trying to do the right thing."
Under the current system, the County rejects a significant number of partial property tax payments every year. During a single-two week period in early April, for example, the Tax Collector's Office rejected 216 partial payments. Taxpayers are given 10 days to remit full payment, and if they fail to do so, they are assessed a 10% penalty on the entire balance due. Today the Board directed the administration and the Tax Collector's office to develop a plan that would allow partial payments, and only penalize taxpayers on the unpaid balance owed after that payment.
Accepting partial payments for secured property taxes was first recommended as part of a County Management Audit of the Tax Collector in 2005; but the idea never got traction. Until now. Simitian picked up on the idea after constituents brought the issue to his attention.
Santa Clara County has the highest average home values in California, with commensurately high tax bills. The County's average property tax bill last fiscal year was over $9900. Property taxes often represent the largest single “lump sum” tax payment that many Californians make each year.
"This seemed like a relatively straightforward way to make our County government work better and more humanely for our residents," said Simitian. "The obligation is still payment in full, and there will still be consequences for taxpayers who don't meet that obligation, but this change will allow people to make progress even when they can't pay the whole bill – a bit like a credit card balance."
“We know this can be done,” said Simitian. “Los Angeles County is already doing it. And if you shop at Macy’s or Target you know it’s not rocket science. You pay what you can, you owe the balance, and there’s a cost associated with that remaining balance.”
“I just don’t think it’s right to tell someone who wants to make a payment ‘We won’t take your money. And by the way, we’re going to hit you with a 10% penalty on the entire amount,’” said Simitian. “If someone wants to pay, let them pay. And while we may lose some penalty revenue, we’ll actually speed up our revenue collection by receiving these partial payments.”
The County Tax Collector's Office is currently upgrading its payment processing system, and changes to allow partial payments will need to be folded into that update process. Tax bills for the current fiscal year (2016-2017) have already been finalized, so any changes related to partial payments won't appear on property tax bills until the next fiscal year. The delayed date gives County staff time to develop an implementation plan for review by the Board.
The proposal was supported with County Assessor Larry Stone, who commented, “It has never made much sense to me that when a taxpayer sends a check for an amount less than the total bill, the County returns the entire amount.”
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