Pay the Tax

Twenty Years ago I suggested to the Legislature while serving as Mayor that big internet retailers needed to collect the gross receipts tax on their sales and send them to the cities and state.  Of course I was highly criticized for worrying that the fall in revenues would be a disaster for the cities.  Now, an effort is underway to finally craft such a bill, as Utah has done.  The facts are that our local small business men and women are required to collect taxes, but corporate monsters get away with not doing it, and that puts them at a great economic advantage.  Meanwhile the mom and pop stores fade away.

A lot of people don't want to see this of course because they think a magic dragon poops out money for the governments to fix streets, hire police and firemen, and mow the grass in the parks.