Letter: From the Oneida County Treasurer by Kris Ostermann, Oneida County Treasurer
Editor:
Oneida County taxpayers should receive their 2012 tax bills by the end of December. If you do not receive your tax bill, you should contact either my office at (715) 369-6137 or the treasurer of the town in which your property is located. Remember, state law states you must pay your taxes and pay them on time, even if you did not receive a tax bill.
You must pay at least the first installment listed on the tax bill on or before Jan. 31 to the town/city treasurer. If you miss the payment deadline, or if you pay less than the amount due, your taxes will be delinquent. You will be charged 1.5 percent penalty and interest per month on the total unpaid tax amount beginning Feb. 1. More importantly, however, you lose the option of making your second half payment in July.
Now is also the time to be sure you are certified for the Lottery and Gaming Credit. Please check your tax bill. The amount of the Lottery and Gaming Credit appears in the middle of your tax bill, right above the Net Property Tax calculation. If you have not received the Lottery Credit and meet the requirements, contact your local treasurer, who will see that you receive a claim form. You must sign and return the form to your local treasurer before you can be certified for and receive the credit. Property that was owned by you and was your primary residence on Jan. 1, 2012, is eligible for the credit.
The state audits the files of each county and in order to keep the files current, we must recertify every so often to find owners who are not receiving the credit and to remove those who do not qualify. In the next few years, Oneida County will be asking property owners in some towns to recertify for their lottery credit. Every year, we will pick a couple of towns to do this for us. If you received a blue copy of a lottery credit form from your local treasurer, it is your turn to recertify. This year, the towns are Little Rice, Lynne, Minocqua, Hazelhurst, Lake Tomahawk and Woodruff.
We thank you for your cooperation with this project.
Kris Ostermann, Oneida County Treasurer
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