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| | | Anyone home? | | September 18, 2009 | | | | The D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue’s project to ensure the eligibility of homeowners who receive the homestead deduction isn’t quite ready for prime time.
It’s not that there’s no need to check compliance, given the inspector general’s estimate that the government lost between $1.1 million and $3.4 million in 2004 to unjustified homestead deductions and senior citizen exemptions. But the department’s methodology is unacceptable.
In the first wave of a new compliance project, the agency sent about 9,000 letters to homeowners across the city. Officials requested copies of a driver’s license, vehicle registration, voter registration and a D.C. tax return.
We wonder whether top officials saw the letter before it was sent out, given the obvious red flags. Not every one is able to produce all four documents: Not everyone drives, not everyone owns a car and not everyone is registered to vote. In some cases, residents may not even be required to file an income tax return.
Even for those with access to the documentation, doubts abounded. Why should a government agency have to ask residents to provide documents produced by the very same government?
At the very least, the letter should have provided context, as well as explanation of what to provide as evidence in the absence of one or more government documents.
The agency also should have set up a call center with operators able to provide thorough information. Several residents have reported receiving conflicting answers about alternative documentation.
The tax office is embarking on a three- to five-year project to require all 90,000 or so homestead-deduction recipients to demonstrate their eligibility. There is time for officials to learn from their early mistakes and step up the quality of the communications effort. | | | | | Log in to comment on this article |
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