Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania
i just received a letter stating I failed to pay 1 year of per capita tax in PA. The collection company wants the $15 plus a $50 fee for collecting. I have 2 questions. 1. what will happen if I never pay them(besides negative credit reporting) and 2. If I send them money is the collection company allowed to collect their fees before the debt I owe? I told them I would send the$25 and they told me it would go towards their fees first then my debt after the fees were paid. Thank you for your time and help.
2 Answers from Attorneys
There is no such thing as a per capita tax in PA. This sounds like a scam.
There are state income taxes and local income taxes and a business/occupational privilege tax in some areas.
If you got a letter it should indicate on the letter exactly who this collector is collecting for. Is it a municipality/city? Is it the state?
If there is someone listed call the revenue department for the municipality/state and find out what you owe if you owe anything.
If you don't owe anything then this is a scam.
And their are limits as to what you can be charged. You do not have to pay collection fees. There are some creditors (like credit card companies) that have clauses in their agreements requiring you to pay collection costs. However, that does not exist with taxes. So this sounds phony for that reason too.
I think you should have an attorney review the letter and if you cannot afford to pay an attorney then you need to call the tax authority as I suggested. If you get confirmation this is a scam, then the letter goes into the circular file (trash can). This will not be on your credit if its a scam.
I stand corrected - there apparently IS a per capita tax in PA in some municipalities.
Contact your municipality about this. A tax bill is sent to you for this. I would contact the municipality directly about this.
Was the letter from Berkheimer? They do a lot of collection for municipalities. If it was from them, its not necessarily a scam.
If this is legitimate, then if you do not pay, then your wages can be garnished and your tax refunds intercepted.
When it comes to taxes, don't fool around, especially over $15. Tax collectors have tools at their disposal (like garnishment and intercept of tax refunds and the ability to lien property without a judgment) that ordinary creditors do not have.
I don't have an answer about fees - this does not sound right. There would be interest and penalties owed for failure to pay the tax so I don't know what these would be.
Again, talk to your municipality.
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