Thread: Latinos blamed for tax woes in North Carolina

Sorry couldn't find the web site link. Received article in my email.

Latinos blamed for tax woes
By James Moffat
The Times-News (Burlington, NC), August 2, 2005

GRAHAM -- Alamance County residents owe more than $2 million in motor-vehicle taxes since 1995, a figure the county's tax administrator says is mostly due to Hispanics giving false addresses.

In a report to the Alamance County commissioners on Monday, Tax Ad ministrator Steve Crysel said that nearly $1.2 million in motor vehicle taxes for 2004 has yet to be collected.

The figures are part of the county's 2004 Annual Settlement Statement.

When Alamance County Commis sioner Tim Sutton pressed for a reason concerning the uncollected motor vehicle taxes, Crysel said the 'majority' of the people who have yet to pay 'are not common names we use.'

After the meeting, Crysel clarified that statement to mean Hispanic names. But Sutton said that he knew what Crysel meant by the comment he made during the meeting.

'I figured that's where it's coming from,' Sutton said of the uncollected taxes.

Crysel said that Hispanics had provided the Department of Motor Vehicles false information, including addresses where tax bills are sent, when they were registering new cars or renewing their registrations.

He said tax bills sent to those addresses are being returned to the county offices.

'We still have a box full of mail that comes back undeliverable,' Crysel said. 'We're having a difficult time locating these people.'

The problem of collecting motor vehicle taxes is not a new one. County tax figures show that, during 2002 and 2003, $1.6 million in motor vehicle taxes was not collected at the time the annual settlement statements were approved by the commissioners during those years.

About 75 percent of that money -- $1.17 million -- has been collected to date. Based on that percentage, the county can expect to retrieve about $876,500 of the money it is owed from 2004.

That would still leave more than $290,000 uncollected. That is on top of the more than $950,000 in motor vehicle taxes the county has yet to collect between 1995 and 2003.

Crysel said he has talked with Sheriff Terry Johnson about having deputies help the tax department locate people who have not paid their tax bills.

He is also hopeful that a new bill introduced in the General Assembly can end the unpaid motor vehicle taxes at the source.

The legislation, N.C. House Bill 1779, would require people to pay their motor vehicle tax when they register a new car or renew their registration.

The bill would also increase the penalty for late payments from its present 2 percent interest to 5 percent.

'We hope this is going to improve tax collections for every county in the state,' Crysel said.

The N.C. House of Rep resentatives overwhelmingly approved the bill and it will now make its way to the N.C. Senate for approval.

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'We still have a box full of mail that comes back undeliverable,' Crysel said. 'We're having a difficult time locating these people.'

(Go to Wal-Mart on Friday's and check the parking lots)

Judy,

I've been to Wal-Marts on Fridays and I know what you mean. And, if anyone thinks there are just a few migrant latino men coming over here to temporarily work farming jobs and then go home to their families well - they only need to visit a Wal-Mart or other discount store to see that the entire families have often followed them. Of course, I've been on different days too other than Fridays, but not recently because we're trying to boycott Wal-Mart. The products and cheap prices are hard to resist but boycotting them we are doing almost exclusively.

Sam's Club too! Last time we went to Sams' about three months ago I believe, my 15 year old daughter was so upset and angry because she was stared down by a group of latino men for a lengthy period of time. I've lived in North Carolina since 1985 so I know how this situation is and how rude it is and I've heard other women mention it happening to them as well as to their daughters. It mainly happens when it's a group of latino men rather than when it's just one accompanied by his wife and/or children. I'm always tempted to say in a very loud voice, "Excuse me, but haven't you ever seen a Gringo before?" Maybe next time I will say this because I'm beyond fed-up.

On this particular day at Sams' I was also disgusted by the rudeness of the latino women and their children too, i.e. barging in front of me when coming from a side aisle. Don't they know that there is an unspoken rule that politeness dictates (even if it's mostly unspoken) that people shopping follow something along the lines of traffic patterns while driving, such as keep to the right, and right-of-way goes to the person already in an aisle and not the person coming into the aisle from a side aisle? Of course, I've run into many rude Americans too in my lifetime such as those who cut in line or enter the express lane with a basketful of groceries. And, don't forget - it is rude for children to stare/glare at strangers (just as it is for the latino men to stare and glare) and also rude to allow them (children) to run and race through aisles and be disruptive and annoy other people. As a parent, I realize children act up, but as far as the latino population goes from what I've witnessed in public, their children don't often seem to be held to any type of constraint or polite standards from their parents when they display rudeness in public through open and brazen staring, or being unruly in the shopping aisles of many stores, nor, might I add in some cases in my younger daughter's public school classes where a small number have been outright bullies to other children, disrupting other students peace of mind, self-esteem and learning abilities by being mean, obnoxious and unruly, as well as being major "pains in the a" who also make some teacher's jobs hellacious in the classroom.

Annie--why don't you say something in all those situations? You are telling them it's okay by not saying anything. Particularly the stuff about ogling your daughter--in the poorer, illiterate portions of Mexico anything over the age of 12 is fair game so ogling your 15 YO is normal to them. If you don't give those creeps a lesson in how we do things in OUR country, they won't learn.

Educated Mexican parents are incredibly possessive of their daughters because rape is so common there.

I knew a girl in Austin who was attacked in broad daylight at Zilker Park by three non-English speaking Mexicans. If her dog hadn't been with her to fend them off, she would have been raped.

Annie, complain to the Wal-Mart managers and supervisors. They can help you and make these groups of men move on. They are at our store too eyeballing women. I stare them down. It works for me because I'm tall.

Originally Posted by Judy

Annie, complain to the Wal-Mart managers and supervisors. They can help you and make these groups of men move on. They are at our store too eyeballing women. I stare them down. It works for me because I'm tall.

And not only complain to the Managers, make sure everyone around you knows. That way the managers are forced to do something about it. I guess i have a big mouth. When i complain in a store, i make sure everyone that i walk by knows it.

Scuba!! Now why does that not surprise me?

Go Get 'Em True Patriot!!