Maine Sends Out Phony Tax Bills

While testing new software, the State of Maine has mistakenly sent out phony tax bills to about 1000 Mainers. According to an article in the Portland Press Herald, Maine Revenue Services confirmed this on Monday.  The letters demanded immediate payment of all past taxes, penalties and interest.  The letters go on to say that the debts are final and that payments are long overdue.

Apparently the mistake happened while the State was upgrading it's current system.  Test letters were printed and then somehow made their way into the mail system.

In the article, David Heidrich, a spokesman for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services said that the State doesn't know who has received the letters, so that it's impossible to reach out to them.  He went on to say, "“a lot of taxpayers have reached out to us, so we’re aware of some.”

The test letters never made it into the Maine Revenue Service's accounting system, so a follow up letter will never be mailed out.

If someone made a payment that didn't have to be made then they can speed up a refund by calling 626-8475.

In the future when printing out test letters the phrase "Not To Be Mailed" will be included.