Government is moving to recoup $40 million missing tax dollars from companies which have failed to meet their tax burdens in a timely fashion.

Tax Commissioner Heather Jacobs Matthews, Director of Social Insurance Karen Daniels and Debt Enforcement Unit Manager Mitchelle Williams are planning to get tough with delinquent companies and collect the money owed to Government.

Mrs. Matthews said it is her aim to reduce the massive amount of debt owed to the tax collections office from $26 million to just below $15 million.

Currently pension contributions in arrears have reached $10 million and overdue payroll tax is over $17 million. In his latest report the Auditor General estimates the total amount of all unpaid taxes has reached $40 million.

Mrs. Matthews has the figures posted on her office wall as a constant reminder of her goal to reduce the debt.

?We may be able to do it, we may not but we can at least say we tried, and we will certainly make the best effort,? she said.

Encouraging the public to take paying their taxes seriously is a challenge, however.

Mrs. Matthews said many Bermudians do not placing them high on their list of priorities.

?If everyone treated their taxes like a light bill or a cell phone bill ? everyone has a cell phone ? if it was like that we?d be in great shape,? said Mrs. Matthews. ?We don?t want to be seen as the bogeyman but at the end of the day we have to ensure that Government is able to run its full mandate of programmes and services and when people don?t pay, it means there is less and everyone is missing out a result.?

Failure to pay into the Contributory Pension Fund and to meet tax obligations has been a hot topic recently after it emerged that new Tourism Board Chairman Andre Curtis with former business partners Tim and Georgia Marshall owe Government close to half a million dollars in employee pension payments and payroll taxes through the now defunct company First Choice Construction Ltd.

The company, which is one of many listed in the Auditor General?s reports, walked away from its debt after liquidating since principals in a limited liability company have no obligation for the debt under the law.

Currently, under the law, failure to pay both pension and payroll tax is punishable only with a fine of $250 per offence.

The Debt Enforcement Unit, an arm of the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General?s Chambers, has collected close to $1 million in unpaid taxes this year.

The office is set to tighten its oversight of companies, however, and Mrs. Matthews hopes to build a public registrar to better identify people who may run more than one business under different names.

This is particularly important, said Mrs. Matthews, since people can avoid taxation during the three-month wait period granted to new businesses.

Other future plans include reducing paperwork by encouraging people to file tax payments online ? 36 percent of the general public are currently paying their land tax on the Internet.

As a step towards cutting down on tax debt, all three women back legislation which aims to enforce payment of outstanding debts from the former directors of limited liability companies which have gone out of business. Although numerous companies have skirted around the law by liquidating, Ms Daniels said it is theft when employers fail to remit the funds from the employee portion of the pension fund.

Ms Daniels, who watches over funds in the Contributory Pension Fund, said employees must regularly check their contributions and can do so on a weekly basis. The story of employers whose companies have run into trouble is nothing new, and all too often people reach retirement age and discover their earnings towards the fund are substantially reduced.

?It breaks my heart its a tough situation at 65 found out funds are reduced, in most cases they are eligible for pension but not getting the full 100 percent although they have been working an X number of years and know they are entitled to full benefits,? said Ms Daniels.

?It?s theft plain and simple and it?s a personal affront.?

Ms Williams said efforts are made to give people some time to make a dent in their debts, to help keep their businesses afloat and to make some contributions to what is owed. ?We don?t chase people at first, we give them the chance to come in and talk to us, we send warning letters, we communicate with people to give them an opportunity before initiating legal action and taking them to court,? she said. Ms Matthews said despite history of debt, a simple telephone call can go a long way.

?Often we hear as an excuse that the Government should change its policies. One person who owed taxes even told me that it was because of his wife. We hear the whole list of excuses, however, the first thing we will do is help you by setting up a payment plan.

?If you come in and make an attempt to pay we can consider waiving certain penalties.?