Apparently this tax collector also collects classic cars. He has 13 and six of them he has gotten through the tax court. Not by bidding on them, but by making them part of his tax collection decision. The informal hearings — conducted by clerical staff in counties across Texas — receive no outside scrutiny or oversight. Tax collectors have complete authority to rule as they see fit, regardless of the evidence. The hearings are usually closed to the public, often one-on-one, and completely off the record.
So, in order to get a tax deal someone has to cough up a classic car. In a recent case he traded his 2003 Aston Martin on a 2005 Bentley Continental GT. Turns out that the Continental was stolen. That didn't stop John Wiley Price, merely on his word Price was granted title to the Bentley, and paid sales tax on the $41,700 value of the vehicle that remained after the $86,300 trade-in for the Aston. I doubt very much that any money really changed hands.
What a cake of a job to have. By the way, I thought that in America the use of all three names in your moniker was reserved for mass murderers.
