INVESTIGATING NEPA JUNE 11, 2017
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING THIS WEEK
Like most states, Pennsylvania is
aggressively pursuing its tax collections.
But where should the agencies collecting on behalf of the state draw the
line between getting tough and backing off.
This week, our investigative reporting showed a case where collection efforts appear to be going too far.
93-year-old Martha Katchur of St. Clair in
Schuylkill County is the type of person people in Northeastern and Central
Pennsylvania point to with pride. She
has always been a hard-working woman beginning with her teenaged years, when
she made dynamite and blasting caps at a plant near Tamaqua. Shortly after the war she married, had kids,
and to help with the family finances, she opened a funnel cake business. Martha was a regular at the Hometown Farmers
Market, and a few other local fairs in the area. Her husband handled the family finances. And by all accounts, the couple paid their
state taxes every year since the late 1940s.
Except 1987. Possibly.
In a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and with the
letterhead from the Pioneer Collection Agency of Sayre, which collects back
taxes from those who owe. The letter
claims Margaret’s business failed to file a corporate tax return 30 years
ago. The news came as a shock to
Margaret. She was mortified, as someone
who actually took pride in the fact that she had always paid her taxes. And she didn’t believe it. But what could she do?
Her husband, who always paid the bills
died 21 years ago. She didn’t have a
copy of her 1987 tax return. For the
record, I don’t have a record of my 1987 Federal or State (North Carolina) tax
return. I don’t know anyone who does. Luckily, she had a ledger from 1987, and it
shows the family business likely lost money that year, largely because the
business bought a new trailer for the funnel cake vending.
After a review of the case, and after
WNEP had two days of powerful promos, the Department of Revenue decided to
close Margaret’s case. And the
93-year-old does not owe corporate taxes.
But her story raises more questions that we will be following this week.
·
Why
did it take 30-years for the state to point out a problem? Shouldn’t tax collectors have approached her
and her husband shortly after the couple failed to file a return IF they really
failed to file?
·
Is
it fair to pursue back taxes long after people have tossed their records aside,
and cannot defend themselves?
·
How
many others are being pursued for back taxes unfairly? Our story left more messages on my answering
machine than any other story I have pursued in the past five years.
·
And
most importantly, how many people who are elderly and get frightened when they
get notices like this, leaving them to pay taxes that they likely do not owe?
We
have a follow up on this coming next week.
MY PAST IS CATCHING UP WITH ME
The last two people to join the Newswatch 16 Team are people
I’ve have a lot in common with.
Meteorologist John Hickey comes to NEPA from
WPTZ-TV, in Plattsburgh, NY where I worked from 1980 to 1986 as the Burlington,
VT Bureau Chief and Weekend Anchor. To
this day, Burlington remains the best city I have ever worked in, and the
long-shot election of Bernie Sanders as Mayor back in 1981 remains the best
political story I ever covered. John has
a lot of respect for Vermont and the part of New York State locals call, “The
North Country.” And when it comes to
predicting the weather, he is as accurate as they come. He reminds me a little of Tom Clark in the
way he has passion for the nitty-gritty science details of forecasting.
Reporter Jessica Albert worked at WCTI-TV in
New Bern, where I was the weekend anchor from 1987-1990. We can already talk about the world’s best
barbecued pork which is a part of the culture there. I don't know her well, but she strikes me as being someone who will soon be among the top reporters in NE and Central PA. You will see Jessica reporting regularly this
week. Everyone in the newsroom is
already impressed with her professionalism, and her sense of humor.
MOST OVERLOOKED BIG NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK
The story that did not get as much coverage as
it should have was the someone complex pension reform passed by the
Pennsylvania State Legislature this week.
It doesn’t solve our state’s pension red-ink problems, but it showed for
the first time that there just might be a bipartisan solution to solve one of
the stickiest problems.
These editorials from the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News are well-written and are worth a read.
TV SPORTS
I am a huge fan of ESPN. Sports Center at night, “Mike and Mike” in
the morning are a part of my daily routine.
But this month, I have been one unhappy customer. The Worldwide Leader in Sports treats hockey
and the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with little more attention than it gives Harness
Racing and Greco-Roman Wrestling.
The lion’s share of attention from
ESPN recently goes to the NBA finals.
This where the basketball games have been largely dull, and the same two
teams are in the finals for the third year in a row. Meantime, the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been
exciting, full of upsets and well-played games, and Carrie Underwood is at all
the home games in Nashville.
There are two reasons I think ESPN is
doing this: Viewership ratings and polls
show pro basketball garnes drawmore viewers than pro hockey, and ESPN spent a lot
of money for its share of the NBA contract.
I'm not asking for equal time, just a little balance, ESPN. Respect your viewers and the game of
hockey, and close the basketball-hockey coverage gap.
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