Task force organized to make sure state collecting all tax revenues

Thursday, Feb. 5, 1998 | 11:14 a.m.

That figure was listed in a Legislative Counsel Bureau audit as uncollectable.

"That is an accumulation of receivables over a period of years," said Comeaux. "I would not be surprised if it's that much that's uncollectable, but it's not just one year. That's an accumulation of at least five years."

But he said the auditors were right in noting that the state lacks consistent policies for recording and collecting what it is owed.

Because of the concerns, Comeaux and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa are forming a task force to see how Taxation, Gaming Control, the Department of Motor Vehicles and other agencies collect taxes and what they need to change to do it better.

"We're going to look at the statutory authorities of all agencies that collect an appreciable amount of money," Comeaux said.

That, he said, means they have the appropriate procedures for recording, accounting for and collecting the money as well as the legal authority to penalize those who don't pay.

"Some of the agencies did not even record receivables," he said. "They were basically just taking what people sent them."

After a review of six different agencies, he said auditors couldn't even say for sure how much money wasn't being collected "because they don't know and frankly we don't know either."

Comeaux said some agencies, notably Taxation, have broad powers to collect what retailers owe. Casino regulators, for example, can sanction, limit or even revoke a casino's license if necessary.

Others, he said, may not even have the power to assess penalties and many have no authority to write off bad debts - so they stay on the books forever.

"The thrust of the task force is the lack of consistency that's present statewide in recording, managing and collecting receivables," he said.

"We're not only going to look at the statutes but we're going to develop some uniform procedures that all state agencies can follow regardless," he added.