An effort to remove the state’s 4-cent sales tax from groceries failed in the Alabama House.
A vote to bring the proposed constitutional amendment up for debate failed on Tuesday. The House voted 56-42 for the bill, but that fell short of the 59 votes needed to bring it up for debate in the 104-member House.
The [...]

By STATE SEN. CHIP PEARSON

Chip Pearson

As a state Senator, I hear from my constituents on a daily basis, as they describe the issues that matter to them most. One of the most common concerns I hear these days is on the average citizen’s growing tax burden. In 2007, our hardworking citizens pay several different taxes - sales tax, property tax, ad valorem tax, fuel tax and others. Currently, there is a great deal of ongoing discussion under the Gold Dome about tax reform in our state. In the meanwhile, one way for Georgia citizens to avoid higher taxes is to avoid some of the most common tax schemes. These blatant scams affect American taxpayers in numerous ways, whether it’s defrauding them out of their hardearned dollars or causing taxes to rise due to the loss of federal revenues. Each year, the IRS identifies some of the most ridiculous and harmful tax schemes, and I’d like to highlight some of them this week.

Atlanta Business Chronicle - 4:50 PM EDT Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A Canton, Ga., man who co-owned 20/20 Payroll Solutions pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal district court in Atlanta to a scheme to defraud more than 100 business clients out of more than $4 million.

Stephen E. Taylor, 34, was charged with one count of wire fraud on April 10. He will now be sentenced June 27 before U.S. District Judge Orinda D. Evans, and he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.