They are among 75 people and companies whose names appeared this week on the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Web site because of delinquent state sales-tax payments.

Seeing his business on the list was "a little embarrassing," said Walter Czajkowski, co-owner of J&W Gallery in New Hope, who hopes it will be removed from the list by today. The fine-arts gallery has paid the $37,471 it owned the state in recent days, he said.

The gallery, which has been open for about 10 years, lost business as a result of the floods that hit New Hope in 2004. "If you were to go around New Hope and Lambertville, you'll see a lot of 'for rent' signs right now," Czajkowski said.

Troubles for the family-owned company, which has been in business for about 35 years, began with some banking errors and were compounded when customers didn't pay more than $200,000 in bills, Rambo said.

Rambo has been calling customers to get them to pay their bills so he can pay his. "People concentrate more on dodging their bill instead of paying them."

Seventeen other states and the District of Columbia also post the names of tax delinquents on their Web sites. New Jersey has been publicizing delinquent taxpayers on its site since 1999.

"Over the last five years or so, we have collected roughly $8 million in overdue taxes from businesses and individuals posted on the list," said Tom Vince, director of communications for the Treasury Department.

Vince calls the Web site an "effective compliance tool which gets the attention of those people who owe taxes." Posting the name is the last step before the department takes more serious action, such as acquiring any assets for auction, he said.

Pennsylvania, which has started this year with those who have not paid the sales tax, will eventually post other tax delinquents, including individuals, said Steve Kniley, press secretary for the Department of Revenue. "It's another tool to encourage taxpayers to do what they should have been doing all along," he said.

Philip Kolea, owner of Auto Ranch in Conshohocken, said he is rebuilding his 40-year-old business. He downsized his operations about five years ago from 55 employees at three locations to 15 in one shop, when insurance-industry changes caused business to decline.

"We are a small business and are not well versed administratively," said Kolea, explaining that he didn't notice when taxes were not paid by a bookkeeper. He has been working with the regional state revenue office in Norristown to repay a $34,466 tax debt. "I can't blame it on the bookkeeper. My eyes should have been wide open."

CulinArt Inc. in New Hyde Park, N.Y., a cafeteria and catering company, did not return calls. It owes the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania $260,471.

A spokesman for Interstate Equities Inc., which owns a delinquent Burger King franchise in Oxford, Chester County, said he would rather not answer any questions. The firm owes $191,485.

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