Of interest, the three county treasurers said tax delinquency rates for 2008, amid a recession, increased only slightly — which they say surprised them. Richardson said Salt Lake County went from about 95 percent on-time payment for taxes due to about 94 percent. Altom said Davis went from around 95 percent in recent years to about 94 percent to 94.5 percent.

In Utah County, Kirk said final figures are not in but he feels the rate will be about 89 percent, about the same as last year. He said earlier predictions figured it might only be 87 percent.

The lists of top 10 delinquent taxpayers in each county are top heavy with developers, mortgage companies and distressed businesses.

In Salt Lake County, that list and what they owed as of Jan. 2 includes: Arbor (a development company), $1.2 million; Sprint Nextel, $669,082; Frontier Airlines, $312, 856; Zions Bank, $280,772; Cottonwood Estates Development, $227,197; Schneiter Enterprises, $226,262; J&K Investment Properties, $208,379; Lookout Ridge, $208,351; Gough construction, $194,424; Decker Lake, LLC, $170,636.

In Utah County, the list includes: DAE/Westbrook (a developer), $443,911; Fox Hollow Saratoga, $322,281; Mountain Home Development, $303,954; Midtown Joint Venture, $251, 037; The Lakes at Sleepy Ridge, $229,428; J Ballard Homes, $212,598; Preserve at Mapleton Development Co., $190,856; Fox Ridge Investments, $182,064; DCP Saratoga, $172,507; and Utah Pacific Holdings, $157,697.

Davis County's top 10 list includes: Symphony Homes, $224,464; U.S. Development, $186,578; Benchmark Real Estate, $160,390; Pony Express RV Resort, $123,710; More Applied Utah, LLC, $120,191; Mike Schultz Construction, $105,307; Barlow Corp. and Home Depot USA, $92,152; Patriot Capital Hidden Springs, $84,477; Sprint Nextel, $80,238; and Chestnut Farms, $52,307.

Several other well-known local companies are among the 2008 delinquent lists (as of Jan. 2).

Some of them include: Solitude ski resort, $166, 494; University Mall in Orem, $77,454; Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, $68,210; IHC Health Services, $58,478; La Quinta Inns (Salt Lake County), $55,198; Peery Hotel (Salt Lake County), $55,197; the Sundance Institute, $31,818; Hi-Grade Meats, $21,742; Colosimo Joe's, $12,521; and Lehi Roller Mills, $8,818,

Of interest, G Code Properties — which owns the Lehi site where international star architect Frank Gehry is planning to design Utah's tallest building — was delinquent on $44,925 in taxes. Its principal, Brandt Andersen, who also owns the Utah Flash basketball team, was delinquent on $12,662 in taxes on other properties in his name.

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