SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM

Those are words you don't hear every day. Rarely, if at all, in fact. We received this notice in the mail a few days ago from the City of Middletown Division of Taxation:

Pursuant to the authority granted the undersigned by Section 890.09(b), Ordinance No. 086-22, as amended, City of Middletown, Ohio, you are hereby ordered to appear at the office of the Superintendent of Taxation, One Donham Plaza, Middletown, Ohio on the

30th day of JANUARY 2002, at 11:15AM

to be examined under oath at a hearing concerning your failure to

FILE YOUR 2001 CITY OF MIDDLETOWN INCOME TAX RETURN.

You are further directed to bring with you

all information necessary to file your return, along with the full remittance due including penalty and interest charges.

Failure to comply with this supoena constitues a violation of said Ordinance subjecting you to a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment not more than 60 days or both, as provided in Section 890.09 thereof.

Signed, Linda Davies Stubbs, Superintendent of Taxation

Issued under the authority of Section 890.09, Ordinance no. 086-22, as amended, City of Middletown, Ohio, by the Superintendent of Taxation.

Mailed: January 15, 2003

I kinda prefer the words Lorem Ipsum better. Or even a summons to perform jury duty.

Update: We went to the Middletown Tax office this morning and took care of the situation. A representative from their office completed our 2001 City of Middletown Income Tax return, and it turned out that we only had to pay a little shy of US$256, which is a lot better than a $500 fine or jail time.

I still wouldn't have minded jury duty that much, though.