As mentioned earlier, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s “web site of shame” is now live.
The site, required by Wis. Stat. 73.03(62), lists those who owe more than $25,000 for more than 90 days after all appeal rights have expired. The listing includes the name, address, type of tax, and total amount eligible for posting. A separate list of the Top 100 accounts is also available.
According to JS Online, the list has met with mixed success.
[I]t turns out, some of the companies and individuals are not in a position to be shamed. Some of the companies no longer exist; and some individuals on the list may no longer be alive. Others simply have gone so far underground that they are out of the reach of Department of Revenue agents. . . .
7,259 warning letters were mailed weeks ago, notifying those owing $25,000 or more that they would have their names posted on the Internet this month.
Since then, 913 taxpayers who owed about $8 million have contacted the Department of Revenue to agree to an installment payment plan; to notify the state that they had filed for bankruptcy; or to accept a compromise.