WAMU 88.5 : News

Filed Under:

Arlington County Seeks Deadbeat Taxpayers

By: Michael Pope // March 4, 2011
Play associated audio
comments
The Personal Property Enforcement Program seeks to collect unpaid taxes from previously unregistered vehicles.
Connection Newspapers
The Personal Property Enforcement Program seeks to collect unpaid taxes from previously unregistered vehicles.

Strolling through the streets surrounding Colonial Village Apartments, Jeanette Jones stops at a gray Cadillac and starts scribbling on her clipboard.

"So it's an out-of-state tag. I'm going to write it down, investigate it, see if I can find an Arlington address and send him a letter to see if he lives here, he'll have to register the vehicle," she says.

It's called the Personal Property Enforcement Program, an effort to identify automobiles that have not registered with the county and collect unpaid taxes. Tax specialist Squietta Terry says the program is about creating a sense of equity.

"It's not fair that someone that's actually residing here to garage their vehicle here and not pay their taxes like everyone else to have use of the county services like everyone else."

Since Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy created the program seven years ago, it's collected more than $6 million in lost revenue.

Arts & Culture

NPR

A Read Down Memory Lane: Lessons From Your Former Self

Writings from childhood — cards, stories and other notes — can hide for decades, like time capsules tucked away in boxes, old bedrooms, attics and journals. Writer Jim Sollisch talks about how old thank you notes from his youth foreshadowed his adult life.

Food

NPR

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'

The revival is partly based on the humble sour fruit's growing reputation as a superfood. And in Michigan, a scientist is on a quest to introduce a whole new world of hardier, tastier tart cherries by breeding American trees with ancestral varieties from Eastern Europe.

Politics

NPR

Srinivasan's Confirmation First For D.C. Circuit In 7 Years

The partisan war over judicial nominees has accelerated in recent years. It took nearly a year to win Senate confirmation for Sri Srinivasan to the important federal appeals court for the District of Columbia, though he had no formal opposition.

Technology

NPR

3-D Printer Makes Life-Saving Splint For Baby Boy's Airway

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.