Revenue department publishes delinquent tax list online

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The S.C. Department of Revenue is now publishing its list of the state’s top delinquent individual and business taxpayers online.

For years, the department called the list of the state’s top tax debtors “Debtor’s Corner.” Each of the current delinquent taxpayers on the list is in tax lien status, making the list public information, according to a news release from the S.C. DOR. The department said it publishes the names to provide transparency, fairness and accountability.

Lists are updated quarterly. Collectively, hundreds of the listed businesses and individual delinquent taxpayers owe $119 million in taxes. Business tax debt on the list ranges from $131,030 to nearly $2.8 million. For individuals, the tax debt on the list ranges from $94,373 to $2.6 million.

The Revenue Department said it exhausted efforts to collect the debts before the names were published, sending letters and making personal contact to attempt to get delinquent taxpayers to comply.

“While the vast majority of taxpayers are compliant with our tax laws, this is aimed at the small percentage who are not,” department director Hartley Powell said. “We are committed to taking action against taxpayers who knowingly avoid paying these debts, so we can protect the taxpayers who do comply.”

People who have filed for bankruptcy protection are excluded from the list, along with debtors who have made payment arrangements with the S.C. DOR and any debt in the department’s Gear or Setoff Debt program.