7 Coachella Valley residents owe California $1.5M
7 individuals on list of top 500 delinquent taxpayers
Published Saturday, April 13, 2013
Seven Coachella Valley residents are among the state's most delinquent taxpayers.
Together they owe the state of California $1.5 million in unpaid income taxes, according to the California Franchise Tax Board.
State law requires the tax board to publicly release the names of the top 500 delinquent taxpayers at least twice a year. To be included on the list, individuals or businesses must owe more than $100,000 in unpaid state income taxes and have a tax lien filed against them.
Barry B. Woods of Indian Wells owes the state more in unpaid income taxes than any other valley resident. His tax bill is $362,554, according to the tax board.
The Desert Sun tried multiple times but was unable to contact Woods or the six other people whose names appeared on the list, which was released earlier this week.
Voicemail messages were not returned.
The other valley residents who were included on the list and the amount they owe are Eric V. Cowle of Rancho Mirage, $304,613; Alex O. Torres of Indio, $224,913; Allen Geiberger of Palm Desert, $219,060; James H. Pardue of La Quinta, $209,383; and Jade F. and Nicholas Duran of Palm Desert, $196,902.
The Franchise Tax Board cannot discuss individual taxpayers, but Denise Azimi, a spokeswoman for the agency, said Friday that the agency has been in contact with each person on the list.
The tax board sent certified letters warning the 500 delinquent taxpayers they could be included on the list, Azimi added.
The final letter was sent on Feb. 15. She said 128 taxpayers resolved their accounts and were not put on the list.
There is "a lot of due process before they are put on this list," she said.
The list will be updated again in October, said Azimi. The first letters warning taxpayers will be sent soon.
Update (4/13/2013):
Cowle contacted The Desert Sun on Saturday to dispute the amount he owed in unpaid taxes. He said he contacted the Franchise Tax Board after learning from media reports that he was included on their delinquent taxpayer list.
The Desert Sun has verified that the agency did remove his name from its list of delinquent taxpayers. We've done the same in our database
