UPDATED — The state says Wichita’s Jackson Mortuary owes almost $77,000 in back taxes, which owner Mike Jackson disputes.
There’s one thing he doesn’t dispute, though. His tax trouble is “just a sign of the times.”
“Our bad debt is (more than) what we owe the state,” Jackson says.
He says customers are slow to pay or don’t pay at all.
“And insurance is slow to pay also,” Jackson says.
“We have performed services and haven’t collected our money. . . . We have a disease to please around our place.”
He says the problem is leading to a policy change at his business as well as at other funeral homes. Customers will now have to pay for services before receiving them.
“That’s what most of them are doing now,” Jackson says of competitors.