SayUncle v. Professional Privilege Taxes
Phone rings. It’s the Tennessee Department of Finance and revenue. Seems that I am delinquent in paying my 2006 professional privilege tax. See, as a licensed member of a particular profession, I must pay to the state $400 per year. Conversation went something like this:
Tax Collector: Yeah, we’ve been trying to collect this tax plus penalties and interest for several months now. The new total comes to $539.
SayUncle: Did you send me a bill?
Tax Collector: Yes and a final payment notice.
SayUncle: Where’d you send it?
Tax Collector: [reads old address from two houses ago]
SayUncle: Yeah, I don’t live there any more. Haven’t for a while. I let you guys know that via your handy little website that exists expressly for the purpose of letting you know that.
Tax Collector: Oh.
SayUncle: And I thought the tax was every two years?
Tax Collector: It’s yearly.
SayUncle: So, any way, you’re going to charge me additional money due to your inability to check your own website? Doesn’t seem right. $100 in penalties and $39 interest is awful steep. That’s like, what, 18% interest?
Tax Collector: Err, I just have a computer printout . . .
SayUncle: Isn’t that, like, usury? Or, you know, pretty close? Are there laws against that?
Tax Collector: Well, we need to collect your tax . . .
SayUncle: So, can I request a waiver? After all, you guys seemed to put forth a rather lackluster effort to actually find me. I don’t really think I should have to pay for your error. You got phone books?
Tax Collector: Well, you can request a waiver for the penalties but the state’s policy is that we can’t waive the interest. I’ll need a formal letter requesting the waiver and a check for $439
SayUncle: So, no matter what, I gotta pay for something that is, in fact, beyond my control and through no fault of my own.
Tax Collector: Err . . .
SayUncle: Unbelievable.
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:35 am
The joys of government
inefficiency. Gotta love any method of taxing those who work more than those who don’t.Pure idiocy. Of course, when the people working there aren’t paid or fired based on how well or poorly they do their job, nothing unexpected.
March 2nd, 2007 at 11:21 am
Convert the amount to Canadian dollars and send them all of it in coins.
March 2nd, 2007 at 11:24 am
Ain’t it grand to be a privileged professional in TN?
The tax is yearly, the registration fee is every two years. (at least it’s that way for PEs, probably the same for CPAs).
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:06 pm
It ain’t like the old Monoply Game card…”bank error in your favor–collect $200″! When there’s a government error, they make us pay for it. And it gets worse, the gov’t deliberately and intentionally allows our country to be invaded with illegal immigrants (breaking the law), and then imposes us (by law) to appease, acommodate and PAY BENEFITS to the invaders.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Without an income tax, they have to get revenue wherever they can.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Oh, and lawyer up. A mere phone call from your lawyer will probably be enough to make the excess go away. Better to give the money to the lawyer than to them.
March 2nd, 2007 at 2:48 pm
“A mere phone call from your lawyer will probably be enough to make the excess go away. ”
My lawyer costs more than $39 😉
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Thanks to the lobbying efforts of the largest professional associations (insurance, for example), the legislature decided to single out a very few professions for a completely outrageous tax rather than apply a very small tax on all state licensed professions.
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:06 pm
did they really say “Well, we need to collect your tax . . “???
Wow! “need” is a strong word there….
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:06 pm
And why would they call to follow up?
Shouldn’t the license just expire if you don’t renew it?
March 2nd, 2007 at 5:28 pm
I agree with tgirsch on all counts.
However, the Tn Dept of Revenue won’t cut or waive interest since it is compensation for the time value of the $ while it was in your bank account (or gun safe).
Anything is better than a state income tax.
I have found in my dealings with the Tn Dept of Revenue that you will occasionally deal with someone with a triple digit IQ, but it looks like it wasn’t your lucky day.
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:13 pm
This is what Benjamin Franklin was talking about when he said “A Republic, gentlemen, If you can keep it.”
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:14 pm
We didn’t.
March 2nd, 2007 at 11:40 pm
You’re just lucky they don’t have a SWAT team……..
March 3rd, 2007 at 12:12 am
The Revenue department can’t waive interest because the General Assembly wrote that little proviso into law. Did you go to the Revenue website or the one for the licensing board to change your address?
March 3rd, 2007 at 9:48 am
“Did you go to the Revenue website or the one for the licensing board to change your address?”
I’m pretty sure both.
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Your best bet in the future might be to file on-line. I filed and paid my use tax that way in January.
March 5th, 2007 at 4:17 am
They may not be able to waive interest, but they could require the erring employeee (s) to pay it.
March 27th, 2007 at 11:29 am
[…] The story so far. A new twist to the tale of me and my privilege to be allowed to engage in my chosen profession. The latest conversation: […]
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:25 am
[…] prior posts here and here. Yesterday, we recieved the waiver in the mail. And I sweat to Jebus I am not making this […]