Legislative auditors say the state Tax Commission could be more aggressive in collecting delinquent taxes.
But their audit report released Monday sheds little light on why some $265 million in tax revenue has gone uncollected or how the commission decides to pursue deadbeat taxpayers.
Those specifics have been redacted from the public version of the report, an action Legislative Auditor General Wayne Welsh said he had to take to ensure private and confidential tax information wasn't made public.
The blacked-out portions ensure taxpayers won't find out how much would have to be owed before the commission plays hardball.
In one instance, for example, the audit surveyed 51 files of delinquent taxes and divided those files in two groups by dollar amounts. The dollar amounts were not made public, nor the number of times the commission sent notices or telephoned. Nor did the audit disclose the percentage of the 11,984 delinquent tax cases examined ended up with liens filed against the taxpayer.
"The audit contains confidential information that was drawn from our collection process," said commission spokeswoman Jodi Monaco. "We wanted to make sure this did not become a road map for people who don't want to pay their taxes. There was clear concerns about wanting to keep those procedures confidential."
But House Speaker Marty Stephens, R-Farr West, a member of the Audit Subcommittee that heard the report Monday, thinks the redaction went too far.
"This isn't the end of this issue." he said. "Auditors went as far as they felt they could legally, but if someone were to appeal this decision, I would be sympathetic to releasing more of the data."
Under the Government Records Access and Management Act, the Deseret Morning News submitted a request for the information to Stephens' office.
Welsh conceded the balancing act of informing lawmakers, but not compromising the commission, has been awkward. "We wanted to release as much information as we could so the public knows what we did, and what we audited, and what improvements the commission could make in its collection process.
"At the same time, we did not want to give all the information away that might give some taxpayers an unfair advantage."
Monaco said identifying which information would be withheld was a joint process between the commission and state auditors.
The audit was precipitated by a group of taxpayers who listed more than 50 allegations accusing the Tax Commission of abusing its power and even breaking the law in its collection methods. Those taxpayers asked lawmakers to conduct the probe to back up their complaints.
Ultimately, auditors said the allegations were not substantiated but noted that the probe actually called attention to the commission's "lack of aggressiveness" with delinquent taxpayers in some situations.
As of December 2002, there was $265 million worth of potential state revenue in the thousands of active, delinquent tax-collection accounts, according to the audit.
Auditors recommended the Legislature review the commission's level of aggressiveness and determine if there is need for additional direction.
Tax Commissioner Mark Johnson told lawmakers the commission was taking the report seriously and already had implemented some of the recommendations dealing with collection methodology.
E-MAIL: amyjoi@desnews.com