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.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was