Government is writing off $12.7 million in unpaid or uncollected debts as of March 31.
Writeoffs are a routine accounting practice. Debts are written off each year when it is determined they are unlikely to be paid because of personal or commercial bankruptcy, death of the debtor, or property foreclosure.
Government will continue debt collection efforts.
This year’s writeoffs are related to uncollectable loans in the departments of Business, Labour and Advanced Education, and Agriculture, and unpaid fines and fees in the departments of Health and Wellness, Justice, Natural Resources, as well as the Office of Service Nova Scotia.
The average over the last 10 years is $13.9 million.
Provisions for these debts were made in previous fiscal years so the writeoff process has no impact on departmental budgets or Nova Scotia’s deficit or surplus position.
A more detailed summary of the approved writeoffs is available at www.novascotia.ca/finance .
Source: Release