Unpaid Drink Tax (Oakmont, Monroe: sales, closing, sales tax)

[youngabe]

I wish I understood this:

Friday is closing time for Oakmont, South Side bars that owe drink tax | Allegheny Co. News - WTAE Home

Most of these places have a point-of-sale system. Why is it so difficult for them to pay? It gets set up as a liability and remitted the same way a sales tax is. Why do establishments constantly go through this? There's a longer list of offenders in the story.

[FreightTrainRunning]

I'd assume that they're dumb enough to think that they can get away with it.

[sparrowmint]

It's a few thousand dollars each, the one as low as $4000, so it could be bad accounting rather than intentional. It's stupid not just to pay it ASAP though, one's bar being padlocked will cost them much more than $4000-8000 before very long.

It's interesting to see who's on the full PDF of places that are delinquent though. The "Brewstone" restaurant that just opened last year in Monroeville looks like they haven't paid for the entire length of time they've been there.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by youngabe

I wish I understood this:

Friday is closing time for Oakmont, South Side bars that owe drink tax | Allegheny Co. News - WTAE Home

Most of these places have a point-of-sale system. Why is it so difficult for them to pay? It gets set up as a liability and remitted the same way a sales tax is. Why do establishments constantly go through this? There's a longer list of offenders in the story.

Although I'm sure that each of these taverns has their own individual story, the bar business is a lot tougher than it ever was before.

Crackdowns on video poker in bars, more rigorous enforcement of even stricter DUI laws, smoking bans make the racket a lot harder way to make a living than in the past.

The drink tax is just the latest hit, I expect the number of working man type bars to continue to decline and their inability to pay this particular tax is going to be part of it- although not the biggest part.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by sparrowmint

It's a few thousand dollars each, the one as low as $4000, so it could be bad accounting rather than intentional. It's stupid not just to pay it ASAP though, one's bar being padlocked will cost them much more than $4000-8000 before very long.

It's interesting to see who's on the full PDF of places that are delinquent though. The "Brewstone" restaurant that just opened last year in Monroeville looks like they haven't paid for the entire length of time they've been there.

Since the PDF shows each month not paid, it's unlikely that it's just bad accounting.

The PDF was interesting. It's a short list considering how many bars are in the county.

[UKyank]

Boo, I liked the blind pig tavern

[Pghuser]

Guess they can plead blindness?

[Pghuser]

What I don't get is that both Mullens locations, owned by radio dj Bubba Snider, have monies owed as far back as 2008 but are still open??

[sskink]

I don't think anyone will miss the two Stonepeppers should they be shut down.

[gg]

Originally Posted by sskink

I don't think anyone will miss the two Stonepeppers should they be shut down.

Just the people who have jobs there.