Madison County Revenue Compliance Procedures
The procedures followed by Amy Beard, a Revenue Compliance Officer II in Madison County, towards delinquent taxpayers include contacting, sending certified letters, filing warrants, and conducting hearings and trials. Repeat attempts are made to contact taxpayers and ensure compliance. Failure to comply may lead to legal actions and misdemeanor charges. The process involves multiple steps including establishing contact, sending final notices, and filing warrants with the magistrate's office before resorting to legal action.
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Amy Beard Madison County Revenue Compliance Officer II
1. Contact delinquent taxpayers 2. Send certified 7-day letters 3. File a warrant with Magistrate s office 4. Preliminary hearing 5. Trial
Once a taxpayer is one month behind, they are put on the delinquent list. The department will try to make contact with them to get it taken care of. Methods of contact Phone Email Visit
Madison County Sales Tax Department Mailing Address: 100 North Side Square Huntsville, AL 35801 Phone (256) 532-3498 Fax (256) 532-3760 www.co.madison.al.us BETTY PETERSON Director Physical Address: 819 Cook Avenue Huntsville, AL 35801 7 DAY LETTER September 10, 2017 Business Name Sales & Use Tax 103 Callaway Lane Meridianville, AL 35759 Re: Setup of Account Dear Sir or Madam: This letter is written to emphasize the importance of filing returns and paying taxes in a timely manner. We have not received your application and figures for this business. Application, along with all payments, including penalties and interest, must be paid to the Madison County Sales Tax Department in order to avoid legal action, which may include criminal prosecution. No longer will agents of the Department routinely solicit your delinquent tax returns or payments thereof. YOU ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO FILE TIMELY RETURNS AND PAY THE AMOUNT DUE. The Code of Alabama states that willful refusal to make reports can result in a misdemeanor. Please contact this office within seven (7) days of your receipt of this letter to avoid legal action. Sincerely, Amy Beard Revenue Compliance Officer II ************ LAST NOTICE BEFORE LEGAL ACTION ************ Once a taxpayer has been contacted and given a chance to take care of the tax, and has failed to do so, the department will send out a certified 7 day letter
FILING A WARRANT After all attempts to contact a taxpayer has failed, the department will file a warrant in the Warrant Magistrate s Office. Willful failure to file and/or pay sales tax can either be a felony or misdemeanor. The department elected to pursue misdemeanor charges via District Court.
CHARGE SHEET This is the charge sheet provided to the warrant magistrate when a warrant is filed. The warrant on the taxpayer is filed after all other attempts have been made to collect; so this is used as a last resort. This charge sheet is found on the Madison County Sheriff s Department website. Once the warrant has been filed, it is up to our sheriff s department to serve the taxpayer. That process can take a few days to several weeks.
The first court date is the preliminary hearing. The taxpayer will plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty, the department can usually go ahead with a plea agreement. At such time the taxpayer must provide figures for their delinquent periods. The agreement will consist of supervised probation for 24 months. Taxpayers will have a monthly meeting with their probation officer to pay an amount set by the probation department. That fine will include our taxes, fines, court cost and probation fees. They will also conduct random drug testing.
TRIAL If the taxpayer pleads not guilty, the judge will set the case for trial. They may hire an attorney or one may be appointed to them. Most taxpayers will not require one. During the trial the department has already told the district attorney that it wants a plea deal. Typically the department asks for 2 years supervised probation, but may also ask for community service and/or possible jail time.
If a taxpayer fails to show up for the court date, the judge will issue a FTA warrant. At this point the taxpayer now will be arrested on this warrant and booked into the Madison County Jail.
