Dr. Joseph Cusumano pays his taxes early.
So it was in April that the retired radiologist sent two checks to the Missouri Department of Revenue. One was an early payment of 2021 taxes; one was the remainder owed on his 2020 taxes. He had prepaid quotes the previous April, but still owed a little more.
Four months later, he received a letter from the Ministry of Revenue. He said he had not paid his 2020 taxes and that he should pay penalties and interest. Cusumano called his bank to see what was going on. They traced the two checks and determined that the Department of Revenue had transposed an account number to one of them, so the check was never cashed.
Cusumano wrote another check for his 2020 taxes.
In October, he received a new letter. Now, the State told him, he owed $ 127 in penalties and interest.
Cusumano sent an email to let the state know it was his mistake that caused the problem. He called and a state employee from the Department of Revenue told him that if he didn’t pay the fine, the state could put a lien on his house. It wasn’t a lot of money, and although he was frustrated, Cusumano just wrote the check.
Then his wife, Mary Ann Cook, had an idea. Cook and Cusumano, who live in Clayton, attend church at St. Michael and St. George’s Church. The same goes for their state representative, Ian Mackey. Cook suggested that her husband call the state representative to see if he could help straighten the situation.
