US man pays $3,000 tax bill with five wheelbarrows of pennies

          

               Nick Stafford delivered five wheelbarrows full of coins to his local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to pay sales tax on two new cars, a haul weighing more than 1,600 pounds. It took staff over seven hours to count the coins, with the office’s automated counting machines unable to cope with the load.

            Mr Stafford collected hundreds of rolls of coins and hired 11 people to help him break them open with hammers, a process which took four hours and cost him $440 (£360) in labour. He also purchased five wheelbarrows at $400 (£330) to transport the coins, bringing his total expenses to $840 (£670).

                Mr Stafford’s dispute with the DMV started when repeated inquiries to his local office went unanswered, leaving him feeling aggrieved, the Bristol Herald Courier reports. Eventually, he resorted to filing a Freedom of Information request to obtain his local office’s direct number, but to no avail - a withholding of information that he believed violated public records law. Mr Stafford subsequently filed three lawsuits against specific employees at the Lebanon DMV and against the DMV itself to obtain direct phone numbers for offices in Abingdon, Clintwood, Gate City, Jonesville, Marion, Norton, Tazewell, Vansant and Wytheville.

                “If they were going to inconvenience me then I was going to inconvenience them,” he said.

                A judge dismissed the lawsuits at Russell County General District Court on Tuesday however the state’s attorney general handed Mr Stafford a list of the requested phone numbers in the courtroom. “The phone numbers are irrelevant to me,” Mr Stafford said. “I don't need them. I told the judge ‘I think I proved my point here.’”

                He paid $165 (£135) for the three lawsuits, bringing his total spend to $1,005 (£825) to obtain 10 phone numbers and the satisfaction of delivering 300,000 pennies.

                Brandy Brubaker, a spokeswoman for the Virginia DMV, said it was happy with the outcome of the lawsuits. “We are pleased that the court agreed with our counsel that the argument was not a sufficient request to invoke the FOIA statutory penalties,” she said. “We make every effort to share information with citizens as state and federal law allows.”

                Mr Stafford said the DMV had to accept his unusual form of payment because the US Coinage Act of 1965 says that coins are "legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes and dues".

From The Guardian

Question 1: [2,5 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a)     The money was counted with the help of special machines

b)    Nick Stafford employed 11 people to help him take the money to the bank.

c)     Mr Stafford sued the administration.

d)    Mr Stafford tried to bother DMV.

e)     Mr Stafford didn’t win his case.

Question 2: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

a)     To buy (par. 2)

b)    Argument, quarrel (par.3)

c)     Request (par. 3)

d)    Finally (par.3)

e)     To deliver, give (par.5)

Question 3: [2 POINTS] Choose the most suitable answer (a, b or c) according to the text.

1.     Nick Stafford needed wheelbarrows

a)     in order to pay taxes.

b)    so as to carry money.

c)     to collect money.

2.     Mr Stafford

a)     is happy because he could get the telephone numbers.

b)    is happy because he showed he was right.

c)     is not happy because he had to pay.

3.     Brandy Brubaker states that

a)     they would give information if they could.

b)     they always share information with citizens.

c)      they share information when requested.

4.     DMV was said

a)     to have accepted the coins.

b)    to can accept the coins.

c)     that Mr Stafford would accept the coins.

Question 4: [4 POINTS] Write a short essay (about 120-150 words) on the following topic:

                    

                                       How should taxes be spent?

KEY

Question 1: [2,5 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a. False:  with the office’s automated counting machines unable to cope with the load. 

b. False: hired 11 people to help him break them open with hammers

c. True: Mr Stafford subsequently filed three lawsuits against specific employees at the Lebanon DMV and against the DMV itself.

d.True: “If they were going to inconvenience me then I was going to inconvenience them,” he said.

e. True: We are pleased that the court agreed with our counsel

Question 2: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

a. Purchased, to purchase
b. dispute
c. inquire(s)
d. eventually
e. to hand, handed

Question 3: [2 POINTS] Choose the most suitable answer (a, b or c) according to the text.

1. b) so as to carry money.

2. b) is happy because he showed he was right

3. a) they would give information if they could

4. a) to have accepted the coins