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June 20, 2016
PORTLAND (AP) — Portland will now be able use an outside collection agency to go after people who don't pay the city's controversial arts tax.
About one in three people don't pay the annual $35 arts tax, which applies Portlanders who are 18 or older and make at least $1,000 in annual income, The Oregonian reported. The revenue pays for arts teachers and programs.
About 95,000 people owe $100 or more in delinquent arts taxes, and about 25,000 of them are at least $260 in debt, according to city officials.
The Portland City Council voted Thursday to allow the revenue office to send accounts that are at least $100 and one year overdue to a collection agency. Taxpayers would be given at least 30 days to respond to a final demand letter before a collection agency would be asked to step in.
“We expect many thousands to pay their delinquent taxes when we send a ‘final demand' letter — so they would not all go to a collection agency,” explained Thomas Lannom, director of the city's revenue division.