55,000 COUNTY TAX BILLS ARE IN THE MAIL

JACKSON -- The tax bills are in the mail.

The Cape Girardeau County collector's office began mailing tax bills Tuesday.

"We are mailing about 5,000 to 6,000 a day," said Collector Harold Kuehle.

He said all of the tax bills should have been mailed by next Tuesday.

In all, the collector's office will send out about 33,000 pieces of mail containing 55,000 tax bills.

The tax bills total more than $28 million in personal and real estate taxes and $2.5 million in railroad and utility taxes.

Kuehle said the taxes owed are the most ever in Cape Girardeau County.

Taxes must be paid or mailed by midnight Dec. 31. Return envelopes are included with the tax bills.

Taxes may be paid by mail or in person at the collector's Cape Girardeau office at 44 N. Lorimier or at the main office in the County Administration Building, 1 Barton Square in Jackson.

Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office will be closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Kuehle said some people pay their taxes within weeks after getting their tax bills. The tax-collection business picks up after Thanksgiving and really escalates after Christmas, he said.

About 60 percent of taxpayers pay by mail and the other 40 percent in person.

"It used to be a third came in by mail, a third came into Jackson and a third came into Cape," said Kuehle, who has served as county collector for 32 years.

Kuehle, who is retiring in February, predicted that the collector's office could be accepting tax payments electronically within four years.

Kuehle's office collects taxes for the county and other local governments, including the cities of Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Whitewater, Allenville, Pocahontas, Delta and Gordonville.

Taxpayers should examine the tax bills to make sure all the information is correct. "Anyone owning real estate at the end of the year owes a tax on that property," Kuehle said.

A personal tax is due if you owned a vehicle on Jan. 1. Each vehicle owned should be listed on the tax bill, along with other taxable personal property.

Kuehle said taxpayers should contact his office if they don't receive a tax bill by Dec. 1.

"Failure to receive a tax bill, if taxes are due, does not relieve anyone from paying the tax plus any interest and penalty due if the tax becomes delinquent," he said.

Anyone having questions concerning assessments should contact the assessor's office at 243-2468. Those with questions about tax rates can contact the collector's office at 243-4476.