Some big names join list of tax delinquents

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jan 12, 2009 | by Lee Davidson Deseret News

Frontier Airlines and Sprint Nextel just obtained what are essentially big, low-interest "loans" from Utah taxpayers -- even though Frontier is in bankruptcy and Sprint Nextel saw its debt downgraded last month to "junk" status.

Still, they did not need to fill out any loan applications before automatic approval. They need not make any payments for five years. Their interest rate is 6.2 percent, not bad for shaky companies in tough times. Frontier's "loan" is for about $312,000, and Sprint Nextel's is for $860,000. It was all much simpler than seeking a congressional bailout.

How did that happen? They simply did not pay their 2008 property taxes on time.

The same deal applies to anyone who does not pay them by Nov. 30 each year. They are assessed a penalty of 2 percent. They are charged interest at 6 percent above a targeted federal rate as of Jan. 1 (which was an ultra low 0.25 percent this year). They have five years to pay their bill, or their property will be auctioned off at a tax sale.

While most property owners pay taxes on time to fund local governments, hundreds of businesses use nonpayment essentially as a cheap loan, according to an annual Deseret News analysis of delinquency records in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties.

Officials say no plans are in the works to try to reduce that practice or punish it more, because they worry increasing penalties or shortening payback periods could unduly hurt the truly needy people who are struggling with taxes.

Those taking most advantage of such "cheap loans" are real estate developers and construction companies -- which by themselves account for nearly a third of all delinquent 2008 property taxes in the three counties. They were late on $25.3 million worth of 2008 property taxes there.

The reason is no secret. They often wait to sell property or new projects before they pay the taxes on them to avoid tying up their cash, "and then the buyer pays for it" through a somewhat increased sales price, said Utah County Treasurer Robert C. Kirk.

He said developers have led Utah County to have a lower on-time tax payment rate in recent years than Salt Lake and Davis. Utah County's rate of on-time payment has been around 89 percent recently, while the other two have hovered around 95 percent.

"That was primarily due to developers. We had huge developments going on here in Utah County. We were the largest growing county in all of Utah. But we felt the effect of some of those developers," who were not paying on time, Kirk said. About 35 percent of unpaid taxes this year in Utah County came from developers, while they accounted for 26 percent in both Salt Lake and Davis.

Somewhat similarly, banks and mortgage companies often delay property tax payment on foreclosed properties -- and accounted for about 2 percent of all delinquent taxes in the three counties. And commercial property companies, such as owners of shopping centers or apartments, accounted for about 3 percent of delinquencies. Other businesses -- including many known to be in financial distress -- accounted for 16 percent of all delinquencies. Homeowners accounted for the other 50 percent of unpaid tax.

Treasurers from the three counties say delinquencies -- which amounted to a combined $86.7 million in late 2008 property taxes -- don't hurt local governments too much as they budget assuming some of it will happen, as long as delinquency rates do not increase vastly.

"It hasn't caused any problem for public entities, and it gives property owners a good amount of time to work out their nonpayment," said Salt Lake County Treasurer Larry W. Richardson. "As long as we have a good collection ratio overall, it doesn't have a significant impact on what municipalities, counties and school districts have."

Davis County Treasurer Mark Altom said some delinquencies may actually financially benefit counties because they earn higher interest than counties could obtain elsewhere. He said the state's Public Treasurer Investment Fund was earning about 2.77 interest in November, which is much lower than the 6.25 percent that counties will earn on delinquent 2008 property taxes.

The three country treasurers also say the current penalties and payback time are probably sufficiently balanced between the needs of helping truly needy taxpayers, and not encouraging more nonpayment for those seeking "cheap loans."

Kirk said a 6.25 percent interest rate may not seem like a big penalty to some businesses that might not be able to obtain other loans so cheaply, but it is a big penalty to some struggling families.

"There are some people who are really struggling. I don't think I could sleep at night if it were 11 percent" as the penalty interest, Kirk said. "I guess I got a tender heart, but not for developers -- don't get me wrong. But for some of these people, they are struggling."

The Legislature also has shown virtually no interest in recent years in changing mandated interest rates or payback periods despite repeated stories showing that many companies, especially developers, are using them as cheap loans.