Menu
Categories
Unfettered Capitalism Gone Wild
March 19, 2012 Regulation

Warren Meyer, aka “Coyote” is coming to visit us next Thursday – hence my increasing references to his site. He runs a private recreation management company and I began reading his site to learn more about the challenges of operating a for-profit business that works in the environmental arena. Here is his latest illustration of how “free” we really are:

As I wrote previously, I am entering business in Tennessee, trying to reopen some closed TVA campgrounds.  I was initially pissed off that Tennessee is one of the few states that double taxes S-corp earnings.  I expect this kind of BS in California, but I keep finding more Tennessee taxes I have to pay.  Here is what I have so far:

  • Pay annual Secretary of State registration fee (Fixed $)
  • Must collect state sales tax (% of revenue)
  • Must collect county sales tax (% of revenue)
  • Must collect a county lodging tax (% of lodging revenue)
  • Pay state Franchise tax (% of net worth)
  • Pay state Excise tax (% of corporate earnings, even for S-corp)
  • Pay something called a county business tax (% of revenues)
  • Pay annual registration fee for county business tax (fixed $)
  • Withhold employee state income taxes (% of wages)
  • Pay state unemployment taxes (% of wages)
  • Pay state individual income tax (% of pass-through corporate earnings)
  • Pay county property tax (% of assessed asset value)

I am sure I am missing a few.  Except for #2 and #3 which are collected together, every single one of these requires a separate registration and separate monthly or annual filing.

"1" Comment
  1. Tax ’em for the mice, tax ’em for the lice, tax ’em for looking in the mirror twice.

    This is a lyric from the musical Les Miserables which had a twisted view of economics, the progressive playwright reducing freedom to dog eat dog, uncritical of Marx. However, there is good irony in the lyric.

    Al Blinder thinks we will fall off the cliff if we do not tax and, most importantly, spend with printed money. OK, it is an electronic bookkeeping entry, but it resembles Weimar Germany. He blames congress for kicking the can down the road.

Leave a Reply
*