SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. - An unknown amount of 2012 earned income taxes for Lackawanna County residents who commute to Luzerne County has not been distributed - and won't be until at least Nov. 2, the county's wage tax collector said Thursday.
At a Lackawanna County Tax Collection Committee meeting Thursday, James Hunt, director of sales for Berkheimer, said a court ruling in Harrisburg on Tuesday will keep Centax Group "shut down" for at least another a week. The ruling cites a need for more time to further investigate the situation. Centax Group is responsible for collecting wage taxes for Lackawanna County residents who work in Luzerne County.
Meanwhile, the boxes of checks sitting inside the Centax Group building cannot be distributed, leaving residents looking for refunds and some municipalities short on next year's budget.
"At this point, until the court makes its next ruling on Nov. 2, everything is in limbo," Mr. Hunt said. "The court has frozen all central taxes and bank accounts. There is no processing going on."
The state Department of Community and Economic Development required each of Pennsylvania's counties - excluding Philadelphia - to consolidate their tax-collection efforts into one agency per county by Jan. 1. Lackawanna County chose Berkheimer to collect taxes.
Centax has struggled in its effort to collect and distribute that money to municipalities.
"Because the DCED shoved this down our throats, and there may be municipalities that may have to borrow money because they won't be getting their payments on time, what will be done?" asked Marnie Palmer, who represented Clarks Green.
Lackawanna County Tax Collection Committee Chairman William Lazor said that would all be addressed under the committee's claim against a performance bond of the Centax Group, Travelers Insurance, filed earlier this year.
"As long as the municipalities can quantify the costs, they will be included in the bond claim," he said. "We are confident - eventually - all the money will be recouped to Lackawanna County municipalities."
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