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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Delinquent taxpayers will be revealed Friday

Advertiser Staff

No more chances.

Starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday, the state Department of Taxation will begin posting names of individuals or businesses with delinquent tax balances on the department's Web site.

The department, which announced the plan earlier this month, said it sent letters last month to 41 delinquent taxpayers notifying them of the policy.

The state says that in all these cases, the taxpayers have had numerous chances to pay their balances.

After receiving the letters, two taxpayers made down payments and initiated payment schedules; one filed for bankruptcy; and one's accountant contacted the state to discuss options.

The names of delinquent taxpayers may be viewed at www.hawaii.gov/tax.

The Advertiser reported earlier this month that in recent years this kind of effort has become standard practice in more than a dozen other states, which have been publishing names of their biggest tax offenders to boost tax collections.

The California Franchise Tax Board began posting the names of the state's top 250 tax delinquents in 2007 and deems the program a success.

Tax board spokesman John Barrett told The Advertiser that legislators hoped to collect $5 million annually when they enacted the program. So far this year, it's generated $14 million.

People who've shown up as negligent taxpayers on California's list include O.J. Simpson, singer Dionne Warwick and comedian Sinbad Adkins.

Sandi Yahiro, Hawai'i's deputy tax director, would not preview who might be on the state's list.