Antiques Show Sales Tax

To The Editor:

County Commissioners say that they are willing to overlook Sales Taxes at the Warrenton Antiques Fair. Why? Because Property Taxes have gone up. What a bunch of wimpy excuses that is.

They claim they can’t collect for Taxes, EMS services or Law Enforcement. Well I say someone is being lazy. The people who sell junk out there have to have a Texas State Sales Tax Certificate. The State is responsible for collecting said Taxes. Make them, the State, enforce collecting them. They have ways to ensure the Tax collection and payment of the Taxes to the State, even if the Vendor is from another State.

If you figure that tens of millions of dollars of goods are being sold, each time they get together, the State should be collecting about 7.25% or so. That equates to hundreds of thousands going unaccounted for. All that high dollar farmland they use for the Venue and Parking is probably Ag Exempt, so very minimum Tax is collected on Property.

The Venue needs to be treated just like the Trail Ride was/is, the County needs to require them to get a Permit and put up money for all the required services they use or need. They will say there is no Promoter, well someone advertises it, I get a Magazine each year from someone advertising all the different Vendors. Who does that?

To be fair to everyone the County and State should either get a handle on all these issues or stop letting them do it. They did enact a Large Gathering Ordinance for such events.

The Judge and Commissioners need to start planning for the Spring now, not kick the can down the road. They are being paid to fix such problems and quite handsomely.

Jerry Moerbe Nelsonville