Portnoff is notorious for its excessive attorney fees, which are usually imposed on struggling homeowners dealing with financial difficulties. They're usually in no position to fight. After filing the lien, Portnoff immediately starts the process to sell the home on which the tax is based.
Privatizing a nursing home or a water and sewer system is quite incendiary. But amazingly, government officials are privatizing one of their most important governmental functions - the collection of revenue.
Benjamin Franklin once sarcastically predicted that tax farmers like Portnoff will ultimately be the cause of the next revolution. "Let these have large salaries out of extorted revenue. . . . If any revenue officers are suspected of the least tenderness for the people, discard them."
In the meantime, another group of lawyers is filing Revenue Appeals Board challenges against local small businesses in Bethlehem Area School District, demanding higher assessments. In Hanover Township alone, there may be as many as fifteen such challenges pending, according to a report at last week's Supervisors' meeting.
Wait until the earned income tax penalties and interest letters go out next year. Then the people will howl
ReplyDeletePay your taxes and you don't have to worry about Portnoff, the IRS or other collectors. How about that?
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy to discuss either of these topics. Nothing I would consider a small business was targeted in reverse appeals. Nothing that would generate less that $10,000 of new tax was challenged.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you call out Easton for using these guys? Tell your buddy Sal to dump them!
ReplyDelete6:44 sickness,loss of a spouse,an accident,under insured fire flood,loss of income do to unemployment, just to name a few of a thousand reasons why people get behind on their taxes.If these thihgs don't affect you I want to live where you live!
ReplyDelete"Let these have large salaries out of extorted revenue. . . .
ReplyDeleteBen rocked then, and rocks now.
-Clem
10:44, It is not just Easton and BASD. Numerous local municipalities have opted to use Portnoff. This is a privatized tax collector that has been successfully sued, at least twice, over its practices.
ReplyDeletePortnoff was in place in Easton before Panto became Mayor, and I did discuss it with him. In a 2011 interview, he told me he does not like the contract and it is being reviewed.
http://lehighvalleyramblings.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-my-weekly-patch-column-ive.html
What kills me is it is totally unnecessary to use Portnoff. Under state law, the counties will sell someone's property after it has been delinquent for two years, unless there is a payment plan. Unlike Portnoff, there is no gigantic attorney fee. Th homeowner does nt get screwed and the school district will get its tax money.
Mike Faccinetto, I will contact you for a sitdown. The use of Portnoff or any privatized tax collector is totally unnecessary. You would get your tax revenue with the current county system of tax sales. All you are doing is hurting distressed homeowners who, for the most art, are NOT deadbeats. As for the revenue appeals, I attempted to see them on Friday, but none of them are yet in County Court. They are still at the revenue appeals board level. I have gathered that these lawyers are going after the low hanging fruit that they think they can win. At the supervisors' meeting, I heard it was places like WaWa.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was on the Allentown School Board, we contracted w/ Portnoff. I found Michelle Portfnoff extremely willing to enter into negotiated settlements with individual homeowners. Mrs. Blue Hair had no fear of having her home taken for non-payment of taxes. Where Portnoff was particularly harsh was with landlords, who collected the taxes from tenants and then didn't remit them.....and perhaps justifiably so.
ReplyDeleteMy impression, as an abstractor who has followed Portnoff over the years, is that they are bastards. Of course they would be nice to you bc you sign their contact.
ReplyDeleteHey Clem, BEN was a moderate, who urged the hotheads to "compromise" in order to agree on the Declaration of Independence.
ReplyDeleteI guess moderates rock, right?
Good, deadbeats and those who don't pay their fair share are a disservice to all of us that do! BASD should be doing this and should be very aggressive.
ReplyDeleteSorry, dumbass. They were dealing in degrees of conservatism back then, not trying to fend off the radical coalition of troughfeeders, extortionists, social engineers, babykillers, etc. of the present day.
ReplyDelete-Clem
Sounds good to me. BASD needs all the revenue they can get and the deadbeats need to pay at some point.
ReplyDelete11:28 - IF you possess something you simply cannot afford, do you feel justified keeping it?
ReplyDeleteWhat kills me is it is totally unnecessary to use Portnoff.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying there are district personnel capable of collections and legal proceedings? Should they raise taxes to hire such a person?
There are personnel, and it would not require hiring or paying anyone. It is called the NC Tax Claims office. Every two years delinquent properties are sold at a tax sale unless arrangements have been made There is no need to have Portnoff. The only person getting anything out of this is Portnoff.
ReplyDelete