Taxing Times

Last week, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration's Office of Excise Tax Administration closed Cafe Rue Orleans on South Walton Boulevard in Bentonville. Such closures often happen when the business collects sales taxes from customers but does not remit the taxes to the state. The restaurant's Fayetteville location on North College remains open, although it never reports enough sales tax collections to make the Top 60 restaurants in Fayetteville. Chef and co-owner, Maudie Schmitt, is a member of the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission that oversees expenditures of the HMR tax collected by the city.

This week, the DF&A issued a Business Closure Notification to Mary Maestri's, operating in Tontitown since 1922 and proudly displaying a lobby full of signed pictures with George Bush. In June, owner Danny Maestri said he was watching labor costs, cutting corners, looking at creative business financing, and seeking new investors for expansion projects that will give his company a broader financial base to grow during this difficult time. He should still consider paying the sales taxes he collects from customers.