Cities and towns in Mississippi are making changes to their local laws to be able to collect more unpaid fines and traffic tickets in anticipation of a state bill that would allow the state’s Department of Revenue to collect those unpaid debts from the state tax returns of individuals.
Meridian, Miss., for example, has more than $5 million in unpaid fines. The bill would allow them to have the money docked from state tax returns if the unpaid debt is over $50. The state Department of Revenue would add a 25% fee for managing the service.
The Mississippi Municipal League is behind the state bill, it said.
If passed, the local government would be required to send a letter to the individual, notifying him or her of the intention to have the unpaid debt docked from a tax return. The individual would have the right to respond within 30 days and request a hearing if he or she wishes to contest the debt.
“There’s a real issue with people who don’t pay their fully adjudicated fines,” said MML Executive Director Shari Veazey. “Some of our larger cities have millions of dollars that haven’t been able to be collected in municipal funds… Some bigger cities have $20 million-plus.
“We feel like this is just one tool to help our cities collect some of this outstanding municipal fine debt.”
