Woman arrested over 96 cent tax bill
Woman arrested over 96 cents
Mansfield mom jailed for paltry '01 income tax bill
By Linda Martz
News Journal
Jason J. Molyet/News Journal
Markeeta Gould holds 96 cents in her hands, the amount she was jailed for because she did not file her 2001 city income tax.
MANSFIELD -- Markeeta Gould, 26, says she was stunned and embarrassed when police arrested her Feb. 19 in front of her children.
Her alleged offense: failure to appear in court on a charge of failure to file a 2001 city income tax form. She says she owed the city only 96 cents.
Gould says she received a letter from the Income Tax Division of the city Finance Director's Office last year about her 2001 return.
She contends she then called the city and reported she worked as a nurse's aide only one day because of pregnancy difficulties. Her entire income in 2001 was $55, and her city income tax bill was 96 cents, she said.
According to Gould, a woman in the income tax office let her off the hook.
"She said, 'If you only made $55, we won't worry about it,' " Gould said.
Gould reported a break-in Feb. 19, and that's when she learned she was in trouble.
"The officer who came out said, 'Do you know you have a warrant out for your arrest?' " she said.
Gould was shocked.
"I had to call my brother to come and get my kids," she said. "I bailed myself out of jail."
She pleaded innocent to the charges of failure to file a tax return. Her bench trial is scheduled for March 15.
"This is crazy. I'm not a hardened criminal," she said.
But Finance Director Sandra Converse said the city has a mandatory income tax return filing requirement for working-age residents -- whether they earned income or not. She says her employees repeatedly tried to get Gould to file the return, and tried to contact her five times by mail, phone or in person between Oct. 10, 2003, and Dec. 8, 2004.
"We deliver all of our (pre-court) summonses in person. That way, we make sure they get them," Converse said.
Converse said Gould's initial court date was Jan. 7, but she didn't show.
Gould said Thursday she knew nothing about the court date or court appearance.
She acknowledged she has lived at her current address for only a year, but has moved many times in the last five years.
According to Converse, Gould promised income tax division workers last year she would complete a return. City records show she called Dec. 27 to report she had a copy of a Social Security report of her wages, and promised to file.
"On Feb. 22, she did come in and file -- after she was in court (following her arrest)," Converse said.
That was absolutely too late, she said.
The city sometimes dismisses charges of failure to file a tax return, Converse said, as long as people cooperate by filing a return before their court date, paying what's owed or going on a payment plan.
When the city brings charges, the amount owed is not the issue; it's non-compliance with rules everyone else has to follow, Converse said.
"We don't know what people owe if they do not file," she said. "We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't enforce this (filing rule). Sometimes people owe quite a bit of money and that's why they haven't filed."
Individuals who did not work "can file a zero return, telling us that they made nothing, that they did not work," Converse said.
"If they owe less than $3, of course they don't have to pay anything. But they still have to file," she said.
Gould said she was embarrassed to be arrested.
"I'm a mother and I'm a law abiding citizen. I paid my taxes every year before and I paid my taxes every year after," she said. "With me getting arrested, I could lose my job."
Gould said the city should focus its collection efforts on people who owe significant amounts or don't file year after year.
"It surely costs the city more than 96 cents to put a warrant out for my arrest," she said.
Converse said the principle involved is what's important.
"I think most people are very honest," Converse said. "(But) there's a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings about our mandatory filing."
Mansfield mom jailed for paltry '01 income tax bill
By Linda Martz
News Journal
Jason J. Molyet/News Journal
Markeeta Gould holds 96 cents in her hands, the amount she was jailed for because she did not file her 2001 city income tax.
MANSFIELD -- Markeeta Gould, 26, says she was stunned and embarrassed when police arrested her Feb. 19 in front of her children.
Her alleged offense: failure to appear in court on a charge of failure to file a 2001 city income tax form. She says she owed the city only 96 cents.
Gould says she received a letter from the Income Tax Division of the city Finance Director's Office last year about her 2001 return.
She contends she then called the city and reported she worked as a nurse's aide only one day because of pregnancy difficulties. Her entire income in 2001 was $55, and her city income tax bill was 96 cents, she said.
According to Gould, a woman in the income tax office let her off the hook.
"She said, 'If you only made $55, we won't worry about it,' " Gould said.
Gould reported a break-in Feb. 19, and that's when she learned she was in trouble.
"The officer who came out said, 'Do you know you have a warrant out for your arrest?' " she said.
Gould was shocked.
"I had to call my brother to come and get my kids," she said. "I bailed myself out of jail."
She pleaded innocent to the charges of failure to file a tax return. Her bench trial is scheduled for March 15.
"This is crazy. I'm not a hardened criminal," she said.
But Finance Director Sandra Converse said the city has a mandatory income tax return filing requirement for working-age residents -- whether they earned income or not. She says her employees repeatedly tried to get Gould to file the return, and tried to contact her five times by mail, phone or in person between Oct. 10, 2003, and Dec. 8, 2004.
"We deliver all of our (pre-court) summonses in person. That way, we make sure they get them," Converse said.
Converse said Gould's initial court date was Jan. 7, but she didn't show.
Gould said Thursday she knew nothing about the court date or court appearance.
She acknowledged she has lived at her current address for only a year, but has moved many times in the last five years.
According to Converse, Gould promised income tax division workers last year she would complete a return. City records show she called Dec. 27 to report she had a copy of a Social Security report of her wages, and promised to file.
"On Feb. 22, she did come in and file -- after she was in court (following her arrest)," Converse said.
That was absolutely too late, she said.
The city sometimes dismisses charges of failure to file a tax return, Converse said, as long as people cooperate by filing a return before their court date, paying what's owed or going on a payment plan.
When the city brings charges, the amount owed is not the issue; it's non-compliance with rules everyone else has to follow, Converse said.
"We don't know what people owe if they do not file," she said. "We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't enforce this (filing rule). Sometimes people owe quite a bit of money and that's why they haven't filed."
Individuals who did not work "can file a zero return, telling us that they made nothing, that they did not work," Converse said.
"If they owe less than $3, of course they don't have to pay anything. But they still have to file," she said.
Gould said she was embarrassed to be arrested.
"I'm a mother and I'm a law abiding citizen. I paid my taxes every year before and I paid my taxes every year after," she said. "With me getting arrested, I could lose my job."
Gould said the city should focus its collection efforts on people who owe significant amounts or don't file year after year.
"It surely costs the city more than 96 cents to put a warrant out for my arrest," she said.
Converse said the principle involved is what's important.
"I think most people are very honest," Converse said. "(But) there's a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings about our mandatory filing."
