Kokua Line
We live on Oahu but the calls are from a man who says he's from a collection agency on Maui under contract to the state Tax Department. I have his first name but am not sure of the spelling.
We do owe some taxes so I have been mailing checks to the post office box number he gave in Wailuku, Maui. We aren't getting receipts, payment stubs or anything in writing.
When I call the number he gave, a woman's voice answers and it doesn't sound like a business. He keeps calling about more payments and I'm getting nervous.
ANSWER: Gary Fukumura, the Tax Department's Oahu District branch chief for the collections division, is expecting a call from you to receive your Social Security numbers, names and address. He will verify with you whether your family is among delinquent accounts assigned to a collection agency and provide other details.
Something is definitely wrong because you should have received letters from the Tax Department and the collection agency and you should be getting proof of your payments.
The Tax Department does have contracts with two collection agencies, one on Maui and one on Oahu, to collect small delinquent accounts, generally less than $5,000.
But Fukumura said the Tax Department sent a letter to the last known address of the affected taxpayers to tell them their accounts would be turned over to a collection agency.
The collection agency also is supposed to send a letter to the taxpayer to summarize the amounts due. The taxpayers have 10 days to respond. If there is no response, the collection agency is allowed to telephone the delinquent taxpayers. In such cases, the payments are made to the collection agency. The collection agency keeps a percentage of the payments made as its commission and turns the remainder over to the Tax Department.
In your case, mailing your checks to a Maui post office box could be right if you are among the accounts contracted to the Maui company. But you shouldn't be left high and dry with nothing in writing.
If taxpayers are unsure if calls from a collection agency are legitimate to collect delinquent taxes, call the Tax Department's collection branch at 587-1593.
Other items in today's Kokua Line:
- Call 521-2259 to donate computer items to schools
- Mahalos and Auwe