Ordinarily, ordinary people have trouble showing up for public meetings because they are either covered up in business or taking a rare break from business to spend some quality time with the family. An exception occurred Tuesday in Murphy, following an announcement of the board of commissioners’ intent to hire an outside firm to audit businesses. The firm would be paid a commission on all unpaid taxes it could discover. 150 people (no doubt an exact number) showed up to complain at the public hearing.
The whole affair sounds like an invasion of privacy. Is it an acceptable role of local government to visit a business uninvited and demand to see its books? Furthermore, with tax codes inviting as many interpretations as they do, tax payment is not an exact science.
As might be expected, this was not the issue. The problem was, many people knew they were being dishonest, but they could not afford to stay in business and pay taxes:
“I know five contractors who will lose their backhoes,” Charles Ledford said. “Tonight is going to make your future.”
Commissioner David Wood held a different opinion, stating widows on fixed incomes pay their fair share, so businessmen should, too.
[Chair] Meltz said that as the result of the vote, people shouldn’t complain when an ambulance isn’t available to go to their house.
In the end, the county voted against the measure. In support of their decision is the final paragraph in an article in the Cherokee Scout:
On average, seven out of 10 businesses they audit are in compliance, with three out of 100 businesses not paying their fair share of taxes.
An unreasonable person would conclude 27 businesses audited are over-paying their taxes. A reasonable person might ask how competent the auditing firm that made such a claim is at handling the tax code. An even more reasonable person would probably brush it off as the work of another reporter on a deadline.
