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George Brown

Brown proposes new requirements for firms receiving tax abatements

Posted by
Walter Geiger
in Top Stories
Thursday, July 9. 2009
Comments (25)
Commissioner George Brown appealed to the members of the Barnesville-Lamar County Industrial Authority, seeking restrictions in tax abatement agreements with new industries which would require them to pay their property taxes promptly or lose those abatements.

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#1 wdm on 07/09/09 at 05:53 PM
This sounds good on the surface, but unless all other counties in the US agreed to the same rule, then no business would locate in Lamar County knowing if they pay their taxes a day late they would lose all incentices to locate here. Sounds good in theory but lacks substance in real word business application.
#1.1 Anonymous on 07/09/09 at 07:25 PM
If a business that wants to locate in Lamar County can not keep track of what day or month it is, is that the kind of business we want?
#1.1.1 wdm on 07/09/09 at 09:21 PM
Obviously you haven't noticed the growing number of vacant commercial properties in B'ville & Lamar County. To suggest such an anti-business campaign when unemployment is near record high is ludicrous. Think about the long term implication here. A business locates here but pays there tax bill a month late (but does pay it) or no one builds a business here and the property owners foot the bill. I hope for his sake it was suppose to be more of political grandstanding deal than an actual business idea because long term for every property owner in Lamar County it is a terrible idea.
#1.2 Anonymous on 07/09/09 at 09:03 PM
Get with the program Mr. Giveawaythestore. These businesses aren't a day late, they aren't a month late. Many of them have never paid the small amount of taxes they owe. They don't file returns, they don't answer letters asking them to file.

If it was you or I the county would come and seize our property. They ought to throw the bums out.
#2 wdm on 07/09/09 at 09:36 PM
If you don't have the foresight to see how bad of an idea this is, it doesn't even warrant wasting my time explaining it to be honest. Owning a business is far from glorious and sometimes there just aren't duffel bags full of money laying around. Businesses are always at the mercy of those they invoice. To someone who has no practical business experience, this might sound like a good idea but for someone who does, this is not a good idea at all. It will run businesses away from Lamar County and that is the last thing anybody needs right now.
#3 know ir all on 07/09/09 at 09:59 PM
what a maroooooooooooooooon
#4 Anonymous on 07/10/09 at 07:04 AM
It ain't hard to see who s getting the tax benifits here is it. Running a business would require responsibility and part of that responsibility would be to know when the bills come due. Everybodys got to pay they personal tax on time so why would business be allowe to slip through the cracks? If owning a business is so hard then why do you do it? Lots of people play golf, including members of the IDA and the saying goes you got to pay to play. Why is it going to run business away when business is taking the county to court to get in. Maybe we should tax the hell out of them.
#5 wdm on 07/10/09 at 07:38 AM
If your answer to anything is tax the hell out of them then you deserve this type of leadership & ignorant ideas. With ideas like this coming from a County Commissioner everyone better be glad there is an IDA or Lamar County would be broke and the property owners would be "taxed to hell."
#5.1 Imajean Jellybean on 07/10/09 at 10:05 AM
What's your solution? I'd like to hear it. I don't think the answer is to let the business pass on the taxes they do owe so mine as a property owner can go up to help meet the county budget shortfall that was based on those business taxes that were never received. I don't think anybody needs higher taxes right now whether it be a business or an individual and I know we need the businesses but we need them to pay too just like you and I do.
#5.1.1 wdm on 07/12/09 at 10:25 PM
The answer is simple...charge them interest just like they do everyone else.
#5.2 anonymous on 07/10/09 at 04:46 PM
HA!! The IDA has done nothing for this community who are you kidding - just certain people have gotten rich!! Lamar County is already broke and we ARE taxed to death
#5.2.1 mislead on 07/11/09 at 12:42 AM
I for one would like to know where our county tax dollars are going-I do not see any improvements being made in the county-I sat in on one of the commisioners meetings-afterwords fed a load of bull-said I would see something being done in our area within 60 days-90 days have come and gone-the work was done on another road in the county-it fact 1st time I spoke to Mr Brown he didn't even know he had our area-someone needs to get with the program
#6 Anonymous on 07/10/09 at 09:32 AM
What is the definition of tax abatements?
#7 Anonymous on 07/10/09 at 11:56 PM
Now we have someone on this blog wanting businesses who have not filed returns or paid taxes they owe to simply not pay and be ignored.

The great thinker thinks businesses not paying taxes they owe and millions of dollars of commercial property sitting idle or vacant without being taxed saves taxpayers from paying high taxes.

Now he claims he is smarter than all of us and says we are all too dumb to understand how we all save tax money by letting businesses break laws we have to follow.
#7.1 wdm on 07/12/09 at 10:37 PM
According to the wording of the reporter, this idea would apply to new industry coming into the area. If Lamar County is the only county in the state to have this rule in effect, no business would locate here in the first place. A day late and lose incentives is not practical or good business. I have never said they shouldn't have to pay their taxes, I have to pay my property taxes but it's the day late thing I am worried about.
#8 Anonymous on 07/11/09 at 01:39 PM
Not taxes. Did good. Good job firefighters. The goundbreaking for the new Barnesville fire station, Tuesday, July 14, at 8:30 am. We have some soon. New fire engine, new fulltimes 24/7 and new ISO. And rebuilding old Barnesville fire station. Good job Commissioners.
#8.1 anonymous on 07/11/09 at 05:00 PM
If you are smart enough to use a computer, would you please write in complete sentences. This sounds like a rolling barrel, and every so often, a few words roll out. Please!
#8.2 lcff on 07/11/09 at 09:34 PM
Correction - it is the new Lamar County Fire Headquarters - not Barnesville - just a correction
#8.2.1 Anonymous on 07/12/09 at 08:12 PM
Both city and county. TOGETHER!
#8.2.1.1 Anonymous on 07/13/09 at 09:59 AM
Not together. The City has one complete station. The County now will have another just a mile or two away. They have a shared chief.
#9 Anonymous on 07/13/09 at 10:34 AM
WDM..
"If you don't have the foresight to see how bad of an idea this is, it doesn't even warrant wasting my time explaining it to be honest."

Making businesses file paperwork or pay the small local taxes that are required by law to be paid is a bad idea, according to WDM.

"Owning a business is far from glorious and sometimes there just aren't duffel bags full of money laying around. Businesses are always at the mercy of those they invoice. To someone who has no practical business experience, this might sound like a good idea but for someone who does, this is not a good idea at all."

WDM says since businesses don't have duffel bags of money and might have deadbeat customers that they should be allowed to break tax laws the rest of the people follow, and only pay the taxes they want to pay.

"It will run businesses away from Lamar County and that is the last thing anybody needs right now."

My business grosses almost $350,000 a year. My local taxes without IDA exemptions are a few thousand dollars. My other costs unrelated to local taxes are about $220,000 a year. $45,000 for health insurance, $30,000 for materials, $125,000 for employee wages and matching of employee taxes. I don't even notice the local taxes.

How many citizens could get away with walking in the tag office and saying "times are tough, I decided I don't want to pay ad valorem taxes on my car and boat. If you charge me tax or make me renew my tags, I'm going to pack up and move to Atlanta."

WDM is a fool.
#9.1 wdm on 07/13/09 at 01:19 PM
Find one line where I wrote a business shouldn't have to pay their taxes and I will agree with you. Secondly, based on your math, you are going in the whole $70,000 a year (if I read what you wrote correctly.)
#10 Anonymous on 07/14/09 at 07:34 AM
There are businesses that have not paid taxes for years. That isn't being a "little late".
#11 wdm on 07/14/09 at 04:23 PM
Who are they? Tell us the names of businesses who don't pay and I bet people quit doing business with them if they understand it's because of them their property taxes are creeping up. And isn't this the job of the tax commissioner to collect taxes. If they can't do the job they campaigned to do, then someone else needs to be in there who can.
#12 anonymous on 07/16/09 at 11:38 AM
When Brown comes up with an idea, it gets real scarey.
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