Duplin 2010 property tax bill on way to residents
By Catharin Shepard
Published in News on July 28, 2010 1:46 PM
Duplin County residents began receiving their 2010 tax bills in the mail this week, but not a supplementary tax bill to pay the $4.8 million lawsuit judgment filed by the county schools against the county.
The county tax office mailed Friday the 33,552 tax bills to property and motor vehicle owners.
Taxes must be paid by Jan. 5, 2011. Duplin County taxpayers have until Aug. 31 to pay and receive a 2 percent discount on their tax bills.
Many people have already begun taking advantage of the discount, county Tax Administrator Gary Rose said.
"We were busy yesterday. The mail was about full today. I wish everybody paid like that," Rose said.
The county tax office hoped to get the bills out a week ago, but hit a few "bumps in the road" that delayed the bills a few days.
The county property tax rate for 2010 is 69 cents per $100. The county solid waste fee for 2010 is $90 per household.
The Duplin County total property value for 2010 is more $3 billion. Duplin County non-exempt parcels are $36,140.
The county billed nearly $25 million this year, including more than $22.5 million in county tax, nearly $618,000 in fire tax, more than $1.4 million in solid waste fees and $24,00 for the late list penalty.
The listing period for all taxes is Jan. 1-31. There is a 10 percent penalty for not listing personal property, including unlicensed motor vehicles, airplanes, boats and motors, mobile homes and motor homes before Jan. 31. Business personal property in Duplin County has the same listing period as all other taxes.
Residents can apply for extensions by writing the tax office. The requests must be in the office or postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service by Jan. 31.
The county collected 95.8 percent of 2009 taxes, down a bit compared to the 96.5 collection rate from 2008. Many surrounding counties experienced a similar slump due to the economy, Rose said. He is hoping to see a 96 percent to 97 percent collection rate this year.
A supplemental tax bill has been previously discussed as a way to raise money to pay the judgment stemming from a 2008 lawsuit brought against the county by the Board of Education.
If the county does send out a supplementary tax bill to collect money to pay the lawsuit judgment, it is unlikely to happen in the immediate future. County officials have not recently discussed any plans with Rose about sending out such a bill.
"No, haven't heard anything in the last couple of weeks," he said.