The NY Daily News reports:

A Brooklyn assemblyman wants to shame the state’s worst tax delinquents into paying up.

Assemblyman William Colton (D-Brooklyn) is proposing legislation that the state tax department create a list of the top 250 individual tax delinquents to post on its Web site.

A separate list of the top 250 business tax cheats would also be posted.

“We’ve got to start doing something to recover money from people not paying their fair share,” Colton said.

Officials say there are about 1million outstanding tax warrants totalling $14.4 billion. While many are deemed “uncollectible,” tax officials estimate $4.2 billion in judgments are active.

People and businesses who are fighting their tax judgment, sign agreements to repay what they owe, or are in bankruptcy would be excluded or taken off the list, Colton said.

Colton said he modeled his bill after one in Delaware, which has posted the names, addresses, and tax liabilities of the top 100 individual and business tax cheats since February 2007.

Since that year, the small state has collected almost $4 million in back taxes from hundreds of business and individuals who were on the list, said Patrick Carter, Delaware’s director of revenue.

While the state hasn’t polled those who settled, Carter said he expects many businesses don’t want the public embarrassment. He said he knows of one accounting firm that was on the list that finally paid up after losing several clients.

Many individuals, he said, likely don’t want their neighbors to know they owe.

“When we started, I was very skeptical, but it’s worked for us,” he said.

Colton said he is searching for a state Senate sponsor for his bill.

“It sets a tone that needs to be set,” he said of creating a tax delinquent list. “We’re facing a crisis in this state and we’ve got to get contributions from everyone.”

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers owe the city more than $2billion in unpaid taxes, parking tickets and overdue fines.

Those identified as city scofflaws include a legendary numbers king, a jailed Long Island millionaire and several prestigious or well-known businesses.