Cash-strapped US states are replenishing their coffers by pouncing on neglected bank accounts, share certificates and travelers’ checks.
Under US law, public authorities can seize funds if they have been left untouched for a certain period — the length of time varies from state to state.
Several states have cut this waiting period in order to get their hands on potentially lucrative assets more quickly.
An estimated US$5.2 billion of unclaimed assets went to US state governments in 2006 — an increase of a third on 2003, figures released by USA Today show.
Michael Fitzgerald, former head of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, told the US newspaper: “I’m not going to deny that [some] states have looked at this as a revenue-generating activity.”
However, he added: “There’s a vast majority of states that want to return the money to rightful owners.”
Several states including Washington, Alabama and Oregon have changed rules to seize abandoned property within three, instead of five years, although the rightful owners of such funds can subsequently reclaim them from state authorities.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based think tank, 29 US states face budgetary shortfalls totaling US$48 billion this year.
The sub-prime mortgage crisis and the ensuing downturn in US house prices have caused property tax revenues to drop. Tax on related items such as sales of furniture, appliances and construction materials has been similarly weak.
The think tank says the biggest budget gaps are in states where the housing slump has been most acute — such as Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida.
Local governments are also facing a headache in dealing with the high cost of fuel. One district in Seattle has cut back on school buses. In part of Ohio, sheriffs’ deputies have been told to use golf buggies rather than cars and a city in Oklahoma has stopped mowing much of its grass.
The National Conference of State Legislatures recently described states’ tax revenue as “anemic” and their financial positions as “worse than expected.”
The few exceptions are states rich in minerals, such as Alaska and North Dakota, which have benefited from the surge in commodity prices.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS