Legislation to stop Fulton County’s tax collector from personally profiting off tax debts moved from the House to the Senate on Monday. House Bill 819 passed 173-1.
An investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last year found that Tax Commissioner Arthur Ferdinand has been using an old law to collect 50 cents every time he sells a tax lien to a private collector or a property owner pays off a lien on his own — amounting to tens of thousands of dollars per year. The practice, initially done without the County Commission’s knowledge, has boosted Ferdinand’s annual pay to about $383,000 — by far the highest compensation for any Georgia elected official.
“It’s paying someone for not doing their job,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta.
The bill would also require tax commissioners to try to find a taxpayer through Internet searches and people-finder databases, among other records, to make sure he is notified before the county sells a lien against his property.
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