Many Pay Taxes At Last Minute, And Not With A Smile

Dan Hurlbut’s savings account compounds interest daily. Who cares?

He does. And he wasn’t about to write a check to the Spokane County Treasurer even one day too soon.

“It’s pure economics,” said the unemployed electrician who, along with nearly 1,000 others, waited until Monday to give up the cash.

The last day to pay the first half of 1995’s property tax bills without a penalty brought out a little bit of surliness - “Where are the protest forms?” - and a little bit of sarcasm - “I plan on weeping big, salty tears.”

In this group, it wasn’t exactly bragging to call out big numbers.

“It’s really bad,” said Ruth Shaw, clamping one hand around her purse and the other around her property tax bill, and knowing she’d have to loose her grip on one to pay the other. “Mine have gone up at least 30 percent.”

“You want to hear a story?” said the guy in the purple sweat shirt, who was in too big a hurry to tell it. “My taxes have gone from $1,200 to $2,700 in two years.

“And I haven’t made a single improvement to my house,” he hollered as he disappeared around the corner and down the courthouse staircase.

The deadline day left some in a mad dash and others in a tight spot.

Ted Ivankovich had to wait for a check from the government to pay the government, as his income tax return just recently had landed in his mailbox.

“It’s always a relief to get it paid,” said the sales representative, whose bill climbed nearly 60 percent in two years.

The lines that curled out her door and into the hallway ranged from six to 15 people long nearly all day, said Treasurer Linda Wolverton. “Everybody’s been pretty good.”

Most who did grumble had a nasty word or two for government.

“Everything that’s wrong in the world is government’s fault,” Wolverton said, describing the complaints she’d heard.

Gene Grindal had nothing but nice things to say about the people in Wolverton’s office who took his money.

“They were quick,” said Grindal. “And they were on the ball.”