Playing catch-up on taxes

Re 'Fishin' for revenue,' Hampton Roads, Aug. 25: The season has begun again for beating up on the Norfolk commissioner of the revenue and the treasurer. What I took away from the stories about the collecting of business taxes from business on the Naval base and back taxes from city employees is threefold.

Both offices are dysfunctional. Why is it that the offices in our neighboring cities are able to do things that the offices in Norfolk are just getting around to? Both stories have statements from the comparable offices stating similar actions are the norm.

Second, where is the truth? Norfolk Commissioner of Revenue Sharon McDonald said that accessing the businesses on the base was never simple. There is now an 'unprecedented agreement.' Based on the comments of other commissioners, the only thing unprecedented is our commissioner's 14-year wait to tap this potential source of revenue.

In the article about the business tax avoiders, The Pilot was given names of the contractors, apparently.

In the article about the employee tax shirkers, those names were not given because, the treasurer says, 'state law says that I can't.'

It seems odd to me that people who receive bills, and don't pay, are given preferential treatment over people who are not billed.

The third take-away is that maybe the offices of the commissioner of the revenue and the treasurer have outlived their usefulness.