| Author | Message | ||
     Ferris_von_bueller |
Wis. Man in Standoff Over Unpaid Taxes VIOLA, Wis. (AP) — A landowner with "strong anti-government attitudes" barricaded himself in his rural home Thursday and fired shots at SWAT officers trying to search his home and arrest him, authorities said. No one was injured. The dispute started Monday when Richland County sheriff's deputies tried to serve Robert Bayliss, 60, with a lawsuit seeking to evict him for failure to pay property taxes back to 2001 on his home and 18 acres, Richland county counsel Benjamin Southwick said. The county took ownership of the land in November because of the unpaid taxes, Southwick said. Rifle shots were fired at officers who went to the property Monday, said Darin Gudgeon, the Richland County emergency management director. On Thursday, SWAT officers used an armored vehicle to try to serve the search and arrest warrants but encountered shots and ended up in a standoff, Gudgeon said. No one has been hurt, he said. "We are still trying to open up lines of communication," Gudgeon said Thursday. The landowner was alone and had barricaded himself inside the home, he said. Bayliss was known as "a person who had very strong anti-government attitudes and beliefs" and who would carry a rifle and show it, Southwick said. He owes $5,647 in delinquent taxes and interest on the land and has not paid the taxes for seven years, according to the county treasurer's office. Viola is a town of about 700 people 70 miles northwest of Madison. In October, a New Hampshire property where two tax evaders holed up for months refusing to serve prison sentences was cleared of explosives and seized by the federal government. Ed and Elaine Brown are serving five years in prison. Although I wouldn't choose to use the tactic this elderly man did, I do feel that property taxes are one of the more reprehensible and unjust taxes. | ||
| Firebolt32 |
Us Florida folks feel that pain. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
My property tax is over 300 bucks a month. Do WE ever really own anything? | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
That sucks wolf. | ||
| Kyrocket |
$300 bucks a month? WOW! As I do feel that is outrageous property taxes are a must to keep a city running. Without 'em who's going to pay the cops that catch the burglar who's burgling your house or the firefighters who put out the fire because of faulty wiring in your 40 yr. old house. Also the building inspector who makes sure the contractor is putting in enough braces, proper wiring, and plumbing so the aforementioned does not happen. I get a double whammy by paying both city and county taxes but they're escrowed so it doesn't hurt so bad and they're less than $1000 a year IIRC. Oh yeah, and when your neighbor starts piling up trash and I have to go deal with the a$$hole to clean his place up, I thank you for paying my salary. | ||
| Froggy |
0.o that guy is only paying about $800 a year, and for a house + 18 acres. Where I live, house on half to 3/4 acre is $8k+ a year. | ||
| Bad_karma |
That guy is my hero. Joe | ||
| Jackbequick |
Sounds to me like the guy wanted a free ride on the things that taxes pay for. Things like police and fire departments, public roads, a local library, etc. His taxes are reasonable, he is not. I'll bet it was more about money than anything else. We got a guy just like that here. Plays the role about how all that should be free, etc. In reality, he is a guy that was left a comfortable estate 50 years ago. He has not worked a day in his life while slowly pissing away what his parent left him and letting the home turn into a dump. I'll bet they would spank him if they could. The world is a shared asset, you want to play you have to pay. Otherwise, move somewhere that does not have an infrastructure. Jack |
