Bill would allow Mecklenburg County not to mail property tax refunds less than $15

A bill that would let Mecklenburg and other counties stop mailing out property tax refunds of less than $15 passed a Senate committee Tuesday, in the wake of a botched 2011 property tax revaluation that left the county with many refunds to process.

State Sen. Jeff Tarte, a Mecklenburg Republican, sponsored Senate Bill 566. He said Mecklenburg County leaders asked for the bill. The county has been trying to eliminate the mailing of small refunds.

Tarte said there have been a “plethora” of small checks mailed out. “Obviously (those) cost more to process than they’re for,” said Tarte.

Of the more than 101,000 checks cut as of late last year to date, 18 percent, were written for less than $2 and 36,551 for less than $5, Mecklenburg tax officials have said.

Under the bill:

▪ Local governments could decide not to mail out refunds for property tax overpayments less than $15.

▪ Taxpayers can collect their refund in person if they want.

▪ If they don’t collect the refund, the amount would accrue interest and be applied as a credit to future taxes.

A separate bill by Tarte that would give Mecklenburg property owners who owe more than $1,000 in back property taxes from 2011 to 2014 more than five years to pay the debt off has passed the Senate and is awaiting action in the House.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Bill would allow Mecklenburg County not to mail property tax refunds less than $15."