Property-tax refunds delayed

Property-tax refunds delayed

Sept. 16, 2000

By Janelle Holden
Journal Staff Writer

A bureaucratic snafu has delayed $2.5 million in state tax refunds for Montezuma County businesses this fall.

The personal-property-tax refunds should have arrived from the Colorado Department of Revenue by the end of August, but are now expected by Oct. 15. County officials said that only 14 of the 755 county businesses received their checks on time because computer disks with the county’s information weren’t downloaded properly by the Department of Revenue when they were submitted at the end of June.

The error was discovered by Cortez accountant Bill Hutchi-son when his firm failed to receive its refund check on time. Hutchison said that with the help of state and county officials he tracked down the error and brought it to the attention of the county assessor’s and treasurer’s offices.

"We just found out yesterday (Thursday) that the disks that we e-mailed them did not work. We worked all day yesterday getting them all done," said Sandy Greenlee, chief deputy treasurer.

Greenlee said that after they e-mailed the correct files again to the Department of Revenue, the department agreed to assess the new information and send out the checks by Oct. 15. This saved businesses from having to fill out their own individual claim forms.

The department also agreed to extend the deadline for reporting refund errors. Businesses will now have 30 days after they receive their refunds to report any mistakes.

County Assessor Bob Cruzan said that he received two calls from concerned local businesses, and was shocked that the department hadn’t processed all the information.

"It’s a brand-new program, and I think they’ve done a pretty good job of working out a system, but it has been a really tough month for a bunch of people. They sent out 86,000 checks, and parts of our file got dropped on the floor," he said.

Businesses’ personal property is assessed at 29 percent of its value. The tax does not include real property, but covers items such as computers, desks, and other office equipment. The state government then provides refunds to businesses that paid less than $500, but if the business paid more than $500 it receives the $500 plus 13.35 percent of the rest of its personal property taxes.

This year Montezuma County businesses should receive $2,522,017.54 in refunds.

"I think it all ought to be solved now," Hutchison said. "But if businesses don’t receive their checks by Oct. 15 they should call the Department of Revenue."