Tax collections are “steady”Tax collections are “steady”

With less than a month before the due date, there are a lot of taxes yet to be collected, according to Grady County Tax Commissioner Phyllis Gainous.
As of Monday, the tax commissioner’s office had collected roughly 19 percent of the total taxes due.
Mrs. Gainous says her office has collected $2,101,782 of the approximately $11,000,000 due.
“It has been fairly steady and we have been disbursing funds to the school board, county and city of Cairo every two weeks. As it gets closer to the due date, we will see collections increase,” the tax commissioner said.
Mrs. Gainous says that the majority of taxes are paid by mortgage companies on behalf of local taxpayers and they traditionally do not pay until closer to the due date.
Taxpayers who anticipate difficulty in paying their taxes by the Dec. 20 due date can contact the tax commissioner’s office and set up a payment plan.
According to the tax commissioner, taxpayers can extend their tax payments through a mutually agreed to contract that calls for a recommended payment every 30 days, but a payment must be made every 30 days for the contract to remain valid.
The taxpayers who extend their payments past Dec. 20 will also have to pay interest and, if the taxes are not paid in full by March 20, 2011, penalties will also be accessed to the tax bill.
For more information about the payment plan, contact the tax commissioner at 229-377-3322.