NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Portland Army veteran says Sumner County may have been unfairly holding those who have served our country accountable for more than a decade. It all started when Chris Shoemaker wanted to get a new license plate in May.
The Sumner County Clerk’s office charged him an additional $51 wheel tax that he knew he didn’t have to pay. Shoemaker then contacted the county, who admitted they had made a mistake.
Shoemaker served in the Army for seven years, fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In May, he tried to get a disabled veteran’s license plate. Shoemaker went to the clerk’s office, who billed him for the additional vehicle tax.
Under Tennessee state law, veterans with 100% disability are exempt from paying this tax, so Shoemaker went back to the clerk.
“They said we’ve always done it this way,” he said.
Shoemaker contacted the district attorney and the county commission. In an email, the clerk’s office admitted they had made a mistake and refunded him the money.
“They fixed it for me, but I asked what about the other veterans who did this,” he added.
Shoemaker did the math himself. He wanted to know how much Sumner County was improperly charging veterans. He found that there are about 12,000 veterans in the county and said that 10% of them have paid the $51 tax in the last 10 years. Shoemaker said that’s over $600,000 they didn’t have to pay.
“That’s at least $600,000,” he stressed.
Shoemaker said it’s been a few months since he was charged, but the county has never reimbursed other veterans, so he spoke up at Monday’s Sumner County Commissioners meeting.
“I asked for an apology,” Shoemaker told the group of commissioners. “You have to at least make that public, to admit, ‘Hey, we wronged people.’ And now it’s August and I still haven’t heard anything.”
After the meeting, he said, he received an email from the prosecutor’s office saying that they would apologize to the veterans with a resolution at a meeting next week.
“But now the question is how do we refund people their money,” Shoemaker asked. “I understand that it’s probably not really feasible to go through 10-year-old records.”
Sumner County officials said measures have been taken to prevent such a situation from happening again.
Any veteran who is 100% disabled and believes they have been overcharged should go to their office (355 Belvedere Dr N, Gallatin, TN 37066) or call them (615-452-4063).
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