Tax Debt Rising in Counties around Washington, D.C.

Several counties surrounding Washington, D.C. offer examples of the tough times facing homeowners today, according to a story this week in The Examiner, a daily paper serving the Nation’s Capital.

Montgomery County Md., one of the wealthiest counties in the country, this week sold about $5 million in tax debts of residents and business owners. A similar auction last year sold about $3.6 million in tax debts to debt purchasers.

Prince Georges, Co., Md., sold last month about $14 million in tax debts, up from the $10 million it put up for sale in 2007, according to the Examiner.

The State of Virginia doesn’t allow for the sale of debt by government entities. Instead, a taxing body will garnish wages or seek funds from the consumer’s bank account.

Arlington, Co., Va. has seized about 1,400 cars in the last four years from local residents to make good their tax payments. “We are not nice people, and you can quote me on that,” Arlington Co. Treasurer Frank O’Leary told the newspaper.

Arlington Co. expects taxpayer debt to total about $1.7 million by the end of this month, up from the average of $1.4 million for the years 2004 through 2006.

Fairfax Co., Va., is currently owed nearly $8 million this year, up from $1 million in 2004.