HOUSTON – As of November of 2015, there was $111,659,539 owed in back taxes in Harris County.
If you're one of those people with delinquent taxes, you may find uniformed law enforcement at your door ready to collect.
The owner of a medical clinic in Houston experienced that first hand Tuesday. Harris County Tax Assessor Mike Sullivan showed up at One Stop Diagnostic on Fannin St. with law enforcement and a warrant.
Sullivan said the business owner, Fuad Cochinwala, hadn't paid his taxes for 2013 or 2014. Sullivan said the business owner had been evading phone calls for months.
The total amount owed was $5,609.67.
After learning about the warrant, Cochinwala showed up at the clinic within an hour with a cashier's check in hand.
Sullivan handled Cochinwala's case publicly to send other delinquent taxpayers a message.
"We're starting to really execute these warrants to put more pressure on businesses to pay their taxes. Once this starts and word gets out, I think there will be less of this in the future. We look forward to people paying their taxes on time," said Sullivan.
A spokesperson for the Harris County Tax Office said 62 warrants were served in 2015 to delinquent taxpayers.
