Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Taxes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hears mixed outcomes on motor-vehicle and property tax abatements; identity-fraud documentation questioned
Summary
Council members approved several tax-abatement requests where petitioners agreed to pay principal and sought forgiveness of interest and fees, but other requests were opposed because committee members said submitted police reports did not substantiate identity-fraud claims.
The New Haven County Council considered several petitions seeking relief on motor-vehicle and property tax accounts during the Jan. 23 meeting. The petitions included requests to forgive interest and fees where taxpayers said they were victims of identity fraud and requests by others to receive partial relief on interest and fees.
Council members approved several items where petitioners agreed to pay the tax in full and asked for forgiveness of interest and fees; the transcript records a voice vote (“all in favor say aye”) for at least one group of petitioners whose combined payment totaled about $60,731.37. Committee presenters said those petitioners would be able to pay the taxes once interest and fees were adjusted.
However, other abatement requests prompted extended debate. A council member who said she voted no at committee continued to object at the full board, stating that the police reports provided by the petitioner did not substantiate the claim that specific vehicles were fraudulently registered in his name. That council member said the reports were partial, scattered pages from multiple police departments and did not reference the cars at issue; she said she would reconsider if more specific documentation were produced.
Another council member noted complications tied to the age of license plates and suggested the statutory or procedural rules around claims that involved long-past plates made the cases difficult. The transcript records at least one item that “failed initially” after discussion.
Speakers at the meeting read aloud multiple motor-vehicle tax account numbers and named taxpayers (as petitioners) during the agenda. The transcript does not include full, named roll-call tallies for each abatement item; some items were approved by voice vote, some were deferred or failed pending additional documentation, and at least one council member sought a meeting with the petitioner and staff to gather more records before reconsidering relief.
