SALISBURY — Cyber finance has arrived in town for the convenience of taxpayers, who will now be able to pay their taxes online.
As of Tuesday, residents can pay their current property, car and boat taxes online using either a credit card or an electronic check that debits the money directly from their bank account.
Town Manager Neil Harrington said Town Treasurer Christine Caron worked hard making this new service possible in Salisbury.
The reason for the new service was to make taxpayers' lives easier.
"We're trying to make it as easy as possible for residents to pay their taxes," Caron said. "When paying online, it doesn't matter what the weather's like or where taxpayers are. They can pay at 11 o'clock at night or on weekends, anytime and from anywhere they have Internet access."
Caron said the new service coincides with the new financial service industry trends, as more and more banks, retailers and communities utilize the Internet for the financial convenience of their audiences.
There are some limits to what Salisbury taxpayers can pay online. Only current tax bills can be paid online through the town's Web site, www.salisburyma.gov. Those in arrears must still use conventional methods to pay back taxes owed because of the penalties and interest that accrue when taxes are not paid on time, Caron said.
But those who are current on their taxes have three opportunities to pay online now, Caron said. Motor vehicle excise tax notices went out on Monday, this quarter's property tax bills will be mailed on Sept. 30, and boat excise taxes are going out on Oct. 6.
The process of paying online isn't hard, and Caron made it easily understandable for those doing so for the first time. The town Web site's home page alerts taxpayers to the new service and has instructions that walk users through the process, making it user friendly.
"We wanted to make things as easy as possible," Caron said. "There's even a 'pay online' listing on the right 'quick link' menu on our home page that users can click on whenever they want to pay a bill in the future."
According to Salisbury's online bill payment summary, taxpayers need only the bill number and the tax year listed on the bill to use the feature.
Paying with electronic check is free and takes the money right out of the taxpayer's checking account. Caron recommended having a check on hand when using this option because the routing number and account number are needed; both appear on the face of blank checks.
The credit card option carries a credit card convenience fee charged by the bank through which the online service is provided. The fee schedule is posted on the site. The fee goes to the company, not to the town, Caron said.
Presently, only MasterCard and Discover credit cards are accepted through this payment method, Caron said, although she expects Visa to come on board soon.
Tax payment by credit card is something Caron said taxpayers have requested often over the years.
"People often ask us if we take credit cards for tax payments," Caron said. "Using this online payment option is the way taxpayers can pay their taxes using credit cards. We still don't accept credit card payments here at Town Hall."
