Minnesota Department of Revenue to Add 18 New Jobs in Northeast Area. - Duluth News-Tribune (Duluth, MN)

Jul. 20--The Minnesota Department of Revenue will be bringing 18 new permanent jobs to Northeastern Minnesota.

Duluth will get three of the positions, Ely will get 11 and four will go to Eveleth.

The purpose of the jobs is to uncover taxpayers who aren"t filing, and therefore not paying their taxes, said Bev Driscoll, Department of Revenue spokeswoman.

"These people aren"t paying their taxes, and the rest of us are. I think it"s a good thing to be doing," she said. "It"s the right kind of job." Going after those who aren"t paying taxes is part of an initiative set by Gov. Jesse Ventura.

Although it would be more convenient to keep the jobs in the Twin Cities, a Minnesota Senate initiative calls for more jobs outside the metro area.

"We"re putting more people in northern Minnesota than anywhere else because we"re trying to provide jobs up there," Driscoll said. "It makes sense, and we can do it. We usually get good employees up in that area." The new positions will pay between $45,000 and $50,000, including benefits, she said.

The new workers in Ely will join about 45 other employees who work at the department"s telephone collection center there.

The duluth jobs will concentrate on finding businesses that aren"t paying their sales taxes, and the new Eveleth workers will find businesses that aren"t paying corporate taxes.

The department hopes to fill the positions by Aug. 15, and so far, more than 30 qualified applicants have applied at each location, Driscoll said. The department will continue to take applications for the next 10 days.

Interested applicants should have an accounting or auditing background.

To apply, call (651) 296-3414.

To see more of the Duluth News-Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.duluthnews.com.

(c) 2001, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.