It’s official: taxpayers, especially those in the State of New York, really love their cars.
After making threats and sending out nasty notices, lawmakers in New York have found one way of getting delinquent taxpayers to pay up: take away their keys.
Last year, New York passed a law that allowed the state to suspend driver’s licenses for those taxpayers who owed more than $10,000 in state taxes until the debt was paid. At the time, the New York State Tax Department estimated that the program would increase collections by $26 million in this fiscal year. They were wrong.
It turns out that collections are nearly double expectations. Tax Commissioner Tom Mattox has announced that revenues attributable to the program have reached nearly $48 million. To quote Jon Lovitz from A League Of Her Own, “[t]his would be more, wouldn’t it?
The first round of notices was mailed out to 16,000 delinquent taxpayers late last year. Those folks had 60 days to arrange for payment on their tax bills. If they didn’t pay, they were in the second round of notices – the “we really, really mean it” letters. After that, those that had still not paid up had their driver’s license suspended.
The threat of walking, taking public transit, or *horrors* having to carpool with mom sent 5,700 delinquent taxpayers to the taxing authorities. They have either paid up in full or entered into a payment agreement.
Those that didn’t pay up were cut off: 7,850 drivers have had their licenses suspended by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). An additional 3,500 are next if they don’t resolve their liabilities soon.
That could be the start of their worries. Skirting the driving laws in the Empire State can be expensive and could possibly land you in jail. Depending on the circumstances, driving without a license can be punishable by a mandatory fine of $200–$500 plus a surcharge and jail or probation of up to 30 days. If you do it more than once, the fines and jail time increase pretty significantly – do it repeatedly and you can also lose your car. You can check out the specific punishments by checking out the NY DMV’s handy pamphlet (downloads as a pdf) where – and I’m not kidding – they break the word suspension down by syllables for you and remind you that’s a noun.
Not paying your taxes isn’t the only offense that can result in a suspended license in New York. In addition to the obvious driving violations (like speeding or reckless driving while on probation or driving while under the influence), your license can be suspended for other bad behaviors like bouncing a check to the DMV or failing to pay child support.
Clearly, most taxpayers need to be able to work in order to pay down their tax liabilities. If that’s the case and your license is suspended, you may be able to apply for a conditional or restricted license that allows you to commute to and from work. The DMV will notify taxpayers eligible for these kinds of licenses by mail.
Of course, it would probably take more than a few trips to the office to get some taxpayers to settle up. As of February 2014 (report downloads as a pdf), New York’s five most delinquent taxpayers owe more than a cool $25 million. I’m guessing they’ll have to stick to cabs.
