Update: Tennessee Department Of Revenue Shuts Down Jonesborough Restaurant
Nate Morabito/WJHL
Tennessee Department of Revenue signs and chains blocking the front door of the Brick Oven.
Nina Harmon remembers Friday morning well. The registered dental assistant works next door to the Brick Oven restaurant along Highway 11E in Jonesborough. Friday, she was just taking out the garbage when she saw four state agents changing the locks of one of her favorite restaurants.
“They had guns and they had badges,“ Harmon said “It was scary.“
It turns out, those people were tax enforcers from the Tennessee Department of Revenue. They came to the Brick Oven Friday to seize the business for not paying state taxes. Today, signs, chains, and padlocks still keep the owners and their employees out.
“We went two or three times a week, always friendly faces, always good service, clean, always friendly, so we were really disappointed,“ Harmon said. “When you work as close as we do, it’s kind of like family. It was just sad. It was a sad day.“
It was a sad day for owner Robbie Davis too.
“I hated that it happened the way it did,“ Davis said.
By phone, Davis admitted in the last five or six months, the Brick Oven has failed to send the sales tax it has collected to the state. He estimated the restaurant owes more than $25,000 in back taxes and penalties. Davis claimed his partner was supposed to front the start-up money for the restaurant, which has only been open for about a year. However, Davis said when that didn’t happen and gas prices skyrocketed, he had to do something to keep the doors open.
That seemed to be just a temporary fix. Now, the restaurant’s future remains unclear. Davis admitted, at this point, he doesn’t know if his restaurant will ever reopen. His landlord, Kelly Wolfe, can only hope.
“They’re still negotiating with the state as far as I know and I really have hopes that something will be resolved,“ Wolfe said. “A lot of folks are having a tough time right now and I hope these guys get this thing worked out. We’d like to see them stay in Jonesborough.“
According to Davis, the Brick Oven now has less than 10 days to pay its back taxes. If the restaurant doesn’t pay up, the state will come in and auction off all of the equipment inside, Davis said. As for any possible criminal charges, Davis said he is not aware of any.
Meanwhile, although the Tennessee Department of Revenue won’t talk specifically about this case, spokesperson Sophie Moery said seizures like this one are rare, since they are a last resort.
“In general, if a business has been seized, they have been given every opportunity to pay its liability or arrange a payment schedule,“ Moery said.
Moery added, only a handful of businesses state seizes close for good. Of the 250 businesses seized in Tennessee last fiscal year, she said roughly 90 to 95% reopened within one to three days.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
I dont’ understand why everyone is so upset about this. We have to pay taxes. If we don’t pay them then the government ceases to be able to operate. Where do you think teachers and policemans salaries come from? Where do you think the money comes from to pay the electric and water bill at your kids school, who puts the gas in the police cars for them to protect us, who pays for the roads we drive on, the red lights that we stop at every day. Come on, I know every government has its shady characters but the money that this business has failed to pay wasn’t theirs to begin with, it was collected on the governments behalf and should have been turned over, not spent on other things.
Whitey, please consider too that there are some people who have legitimate disabilities you cannot obviously see. I have a very bad bad due to degenerative arthritis and disc disease, I had total knee replacement 3 years ago, and I have asthma and diabetes. I draw disability checks because a job standing on my feet is impossible for me to handle. I have to deal with breathing treatments, checking my sugar levels, and taking several medications everyday to keep my conditions managed. I attend college to get the skills necessary to hopefully get a good office job and maybe get off disability someday. Let’s go easy before saying so many people may be cheating the system. Yes, I’ll agree that some are because I know one man who draws SSI but can do roofing jobs on the side and gets paid under the table so it doesn’t get reported. Those are the ones we need to go after hard. We also need to go after the able bodied deadbeats who draw welfare instead of flipping burgers if need be to work. Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now.
“Tax revenue is what keeps your public services functioning. You know, things like water and sewer services”
The last I checked I pay my own water and sewer bill. Closing down the business is stupid. Allow them to stay open and set up a payment plan. Shutting it down is a loose/loose for everyone. Typical Government shoot off your foot in spite of your leg reaction. Welcome to the 21st century folks as the tax and Government Goons goose step through the community. It is like the court system in Washington County it’s not about making the streets safe it’s about using goons with guns to collect revenue.
Revolution is coming. It won’t be long.
Why not legalize Marijuana and stop the silly stupid worthless failed idiotic drug war and use that money for revenue????
Get a grip on reality folks.
And to the one in the wheelchair I apologize for the ‘D’ remark. I should have worded my comment to exclude those with obvious disabilities. I am just sick of paying into the personal retirement funds of ‘dead beats’. I know of at least four people, that I have worked with, that are on ‘the dole’ and they are in great physical condition. They, and a few million others, know how to work the system. I would name their ‘affiliation’ but I like to eat and sleep in a warm house..
So Whitey, did you even read my comment before calling me names? And the disability thing .... yes there are a lot of people that abuse this system as they do the welfare, food stamps, etc. BUT there are a lot of legitimate people receiving disability after working and paying into the system for YEARS. In today’s world, do you really think that negative comments about disabled people are not morally reprehensible? I am a disabled person. While waiting in line at stores, I have actually had people push my wheelchair out of the way so they could get in front of me. I have NEVER used my disability to my advantage but, with fascists like you running around, maybe I should. Would you like to explain to my children why mommy can no longer go running with them or why she can’t go to their ball games because the park that is hosting the game is not wheelchair accessible. My family has come to terms with my disability, maybe you should look into thine own house before tearing into someone else’s!!
If you are truly mad or upset about this ONE business…...there will be plenty more to come when the “new” and “better for our economy” tax plan goes into action! A lot of people are going to hurt. I just hope that all the promises really are a “scam” for a vote. It’s truly scary to think that any of it will become a reality! Think about it…the more people the government put on welfare ....the more people they can control. The way the new and better “tax system” will work…the only people with secure jobs will be those in Washington, D.C.
What a bunch of da’s. This story is not about the Democrats or Republicans plan to tax or not to tax. It is simply a story about a business not paying ‘the taxes they collected from their customers’, Y.O.U.
Tax revenue is what keeps your public services functioning. You know, things like water and sewer services. A tax that we all should be willing to pay. Now I admit that the government, both state and federal, have a lot of room for improvement in the way they spend this tax revenue. But when you put a bunch of foxes in charge of the hen house you are going to get a fair amount of waste. After all we live in the most corrupt country on earth.
And quit spewing out this nonsense about socialism being created by any one person. It’s already here. It’s called ‘disability insurance’. And your neighbors are the ones that are abusing it. I think there should be a a law that if you are receiving a disability check from the government then you have to wear a big ‘D’ on your forehead…...
My point exactly maggie!
We will all realize what a tax burden is if the election goes in the direction it seems to be taking. The reality of it is that taxes are what pays the bills. If anyone really listens to the rhetoric that people will get a “tax break” without someone’s taxes going up…..well the answer is pretty clear. The real truth is that the “welfare program” is about to be expanded. More people will be locked into a “controlled” income that the government dictates. That sounds like communism. From everything I have always read and heard…the less money spent means less tax revenue to pay the bills, pave the roads, build the schools, maintain the safety of our country. We ALL use these services, yet we expect someone else to pay the bill. We should pay taxes, but everyone does not have to pay. Yet…the people not paying are the very people that will receive a “rebate” check???? Where will it all come from? Hmmmmmmmmmm
I agree with Ben’s comments. The government is spending our money like they can print it. (actually they can print it), however; i must admit, i do enjoy those roads and highways that tax dollars pay for. As I am sure everyone does. We need to focus more on educating business owners on the fact that the money they take in for taxes is above and beyond the money charged for goods and services. That money is never theirs to begin with. it is the consumer that pays these taxes, not the business. As a small business owner, I realize that and have a separate account for taxes so that I do not spend the money collected for taxes before it is due. As much as I hate to defend the “tax man”, he really does suffer when the economy slows because consumer spending slows and the tax man does not receive as much revenue. I am all for lower taxes and tighter restraints on how those taxes are spent, but shouldn’t we be looking at all the aspects of revenue including businesses?
Advertisement