GREENVILLE, N.C. - Government agencies fighting for every dollar they can get are losing a battle that doesn't involve politics.
They're coming up short because people aren't paying their taxes.
North Carolina says there are more than a half-million who won't pay what they owe.
That's $841 million in lost money.
There's a good chance you live near some of them.
No one exactly likes paying taxes.
However, some people take that to the extreme and don't pay them at all.
North Carolina publishes a list of those who haven't paid and now have tax liens against them.
We went to some of the homes provided by the state with their last known addresses to find out why.
We knocked on doors that the state listed the residents with outstanding tax debts of $31,000 all the way up to $103,000.
No answered the door.
The only thing we heard was a dog inside one of them.
Regular taxpayers don't like the idea that people aren't paying their fair share.
"They might lock 'em up for that, I don't know,” said Aisha Cohen. “They do it for child support. I'm surprised they don't do it for taxes."
"If there are that many delinquent taxes, definitely something needs to be done," said Nadine Bowen.
"You have to go after them," said Bobby Little.
Our Facebook fans weighed in as well.
Kim Corbett says it should have never gotten so bad in the first place.
Earlene Jones calls it a no-win situation.
Several people spoke about garnishing wages or taking property to recover the tax debt.
And, that's what the government does.
Pitt County Manager Scott Elliott says he's dealing with delinquent property taxes worth $5.9 million at his level.
If necessary, the county will take control of someone's home.
"The foreclosure process is the last thing we want to do on a property owner,” said Pitt County Manager Scott Elliott. “We do not want to have somebody out on the street in terms of losing their property or their home. But, at some point it may come to that."
Elliott says the county has a 97-percent collection rate.
And, there’s some perspective for the state.
The $841 million in delinquent taxes equals roughly four percent of the state's budget.
We counted 70 people and businesses from Eastern Carolina on the state's tax debtor list that have liens against them worth more than $2 million.
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