Bromberg refused to discuss Reeves' specific case. But she said DOR policy called for sending repeated notices to delinquent taxpayers if it is found that they did not submit their returns.

"If they don't owe any taxes, that's it," Bromberg said. "If they owe taxes, they must pay them and penalty interest." She said the penalty is based on a graded scale tied to the annual percentage rate.

Bromberg said that, in some cases, legal action may be taken against a delinquent taxpayer. She said DOR refers criminal investigations to the state attorney general's office.

The maximum penalty for failure to pay state income taxes is one year in prison and or a $1000 fine, according to John R. Lamontagne, spokesperson for the state attorney general's office.

Reeves has failed to pay his taxes twice in the past. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said yesterday that he failed to completely pay his federal income taxes in 1987 and 1988.

Peggy Riley, public affairs specialist for the IRS, said the revenue service took the unusual step of placing a lien against the mayor's assets in 1991. The function of a lien, she said, is "to assist in the collection."

Before a lien is put on a person's property, he or she receives five notices of delinquency from the IRS and a visit from a revenue officer, Riley said.

"There's also a notice that's sent, certified mail, that the lien is going to be placed," Riley said, "so that a tax-payer would be fully aware that this is happening."

The IRS found that Reeves' tax payment was short $2394.61 in 1987 and $5000.16 in 1988. The lien was put on Reeves' assets on March 27, 1991.

The lien was removed when Reeves paid the $7394.77 balance on September 30, 1991, Riley said.

Reeves' five-page statement, which was faxed to the Chronicle last night, strongly criticizes an October 13 story by reporter Scott Farmelant.

According to the story, Reeves had refused to explain the city-related purposes for more than 275 expenses he charged on his city-provided Master-Card since July 1993.

In his statement to the Chronicle, Reeves itemized 28 charges he made in November 1993 that were detailed in a graphic that the paper entitled "Out on the town with Mayor Ken Reeves."

The "calendar and the accompanying article represent a new low in the paper's history," Reeves wrote. "The reporting was rife with inaccuracies and international misstatements of fact--inaccuracies of which the editor and writer were perfectly aware."

According to City Auditor James A. Lindstrom, the Chronicle requested and received a full list of mayoral expenses from the auditor's office, covering from July 1, 1993 to July 31, 1994. The request was made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).