Uneducated masses, with only a basic understanding of economics, know there is a point, using the term loosely, at which taxation gets so high, revenues decline due to evasion. Students of economics know better. Earlier this week, we read of businessmen opposing a proposed countywide audit of all corporate books. To regurgitate, the businessmen were not afraid of search and seizure so much as having to pay when they admittedly were cheating in lieu of going under.
Today, we read about the Haywood County Commissioners granting the tax collector powers to collect TDA revenues. Some hoteliers and restaurateurs have flagrantly opted out of collecting and delivering the 4% tax. The TDA does not have the powers vested in the tax collector of garnishing wages and automatically debiting bank accounts.
