The number of people paying their personal property taxes online has nearly doubled in the second year of the service being offered, exceeding all expectations. In 2003, about 13,600 Jackson County citizens paid their taxes on the county's Web site at www.jacksongov.org. When the service was first offered in 2002, about 8,700 people paid taxes on-line. "I think it is popular because of the convenience. It really is attractive to a certain group of tax payers," said Ken Evans, Jackson County E-government coordinator. "People are getting more used to paying bills online. Those people want that same kind of service for paying their taxes."
Evans said he expects the numbers will keep growing each year.
About $13 million was collected online in 2003, an increase from $5.8 million collected in 2002. The largest single online tax payment in 2003 was $1.3 million. In 2002, it was $100,000.
Online payment allows speedier processing and enables the government bodies the county collects taxes for including the school districts to receive their tax money more quickly.
"I think we have really entered the electronic age in Jackson County," Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields said. "I'm very happy that our strategy for allowing people to be online and not in line is so popular with our citizens. It definitely has paid off. There really were much shorter lines than we've ever seen before."
The system only allows citizens who are current on their taxes to make payments online. Evans said the county is working on a program to automatically calculate tax penalties and interest, allowing people to make late tax payments online also. He hopes to offer this service later this year.
The county is looking at the possibility of offering credit card payment in the future. However, Evans said this is not a high priority right now due to issues over the convenience fees charged by credit card companies. The county's partnership with UMB Bank allows electronic checks to be used for free.
The Jackson County E-government initiative is also looking at allowing online payment of other county fees, including those for the parks department. They want citizens to have the option of paying on-line for camping reservations, shelter rental, boat registration, tee times at the county golf course and other services.
Other initiatives include the Public Works Department, where Jackson County wants to allow people to log requests for road repairs or conduct research using an extensive digital mapping system.
Quelle: Blue Springs Examiner, 10.01.2004
