Revenue department identifies tax scofflaws on Web site

On Aug. 28, DOR began publishing the names of businesses whose sales tax licenses have been revoked in hopes of publicly pressuring owners into settling long-running debts with the state.

The list is published on the department’s Web site, www.dor.mo.gov, and allows visitors to search businesses by city, county, business name or license number. Each result includes the business name and address, owner’s name and revocation date. The online database will be updated weekly, said DOR spokeswoman Maura Browning.

Of the 80 Greene County businesses whose sales tax licenses had been revoked as of Sept. 4, 67 were in Springfield. Some of the businesses – such as Rasta Grill and Blimpie Subs & Salads – are no longer in operation, but others – Ziggie’s Café among them – are still open.

Businesses that collect sales tax without a valid license are operating outside the law, Browning said.

Ziggie’s owner Agim Zendeli said his business owes the state between $10,000 and $12,000 – a debt he planned to repay the week of Sept. 3. Zendeli, who opened a seventh Ziggie’s restaurant in Rolla earlier this year, said he fell behind on taxes after the January ice storm.

Statewide, more than 1,000 businesses have had their sales tax licenses revoked for failing to remit between $30 million and $50 million in revenue owed to DOR, Browning said. Revocation is a last resort if business owners shun the state’s repeated demands to pay up, she said.

DOR may revoke a sales tax license if a business either fails to remit sales tax collected from customers or income tax withheld from employees. Senate Bill 30, which Gov. Matt Blunt recently signed into law, gave the department the authority to publish the names of businesses that have lost their licenses but stopped short of publicizing how much each business is in arrears.

“No. 1, it’s going to cause embarrassment to the businesses who are on that site,” Browning said. “And No. 2, it allows us some additional tools for enforcement.” In the past, she added, DOR has worked with local utility companies and municipal governments to shut down businesses operating illegally.

“The Department of Revenue doesn’t have the authority to just shut a business down,” Browning said. “We work around that by incorporating the use of different jurisdictions.”

Like Zendeli, other local business owners still operating without sales tax licenses said they planned to settle up with the state and pursue reinstatement of their license. Browning said licenses are reinstated when the debt is paid in full or business owners agree to a payment plan.

Gary Fudge, general manager at Springfield Skateland roller-skating rink on South Campbell Avenue, said he’s notified DOR he will pay $1,400 in unpaid taxes by Sept. 14. Fudge characterized the revocation as an anomaly after 25 years in business.

Rising Stream LLC is another Springfield business that lost its sales tax license this summer. Sales and marketing consultant Steve Olson, who is the company’s owner and sole employee, said his poor paperwork management skills are to blame.

“I can understand (DOR) needing to do something in order to get individuals like myself to take care of our responsibilities,” Olson said. “The taxes are important to the ongoing running of the state.”

He added, “I need to resolve it. It’s how I make my living. It’s a necessary requirement of doing business. … I’m just a filthy procrastinator.”

Reporting Violations

The Missouri Department of Revenue is asking citizens to report businesses still operating with a revoked sales tax license by sending an e-mail to revocations@dor.mo.gov. Identities of those who report violations remain confidential, according to DOR’s Web site.