manorama news paper: Business owners charged with not remitting sales taxes

Friday, March 8, 2013

Business owners charged with not remitting sales taxes | KTOO

George Jefferson pushes in his chair as he leaves Juneau District Court on Wednesday with Judge Keith Levy in the background. Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO News

A jury trial is set for mid-May for a business owner accused of not handing over collected sales tax funds to the City and Borough of Juneau.

George Jefferson, 50, appeared in Juneau District Court on Wednesday for arraignment on thirteen misdemeanor charges of failure to file sales taxes and thirteen misdemeanor charges of failure to remit sales taxes.

CBJ prosecutors allege that Jefferson and his wife Virginia Jefferson, 52, operated the Thane Ore House and failed to report or remit $35,041.45 in sales taxes, interest, and penalties. According to an affadavit filed by prosecutors, the Thane Ore House did not turn over any taxes that were collected from customers from the Third Quarter 2009 through Third Quarter 2012, or three full years. In at least two other similar cases that ended up in court recently, prosecutors have equated it to theft since the pocketed funds come from customers who had the expectation that the money would go to the municipality where it was due.

Jefferson, who does not have a lawyer yet, was ordered to come back to court in two weeks for a representation hearing.

Jefferson said that his wife Virginia Jefferson, 52, has moved to California. She is also charged with 26 identical counts related to not file or remitting sales tax returns.

Juneau District Court Judge Keith Levy ordered a bench warrant for $500 cash bail for Virginia Jefferson. The warrant would likely be quashed if she initiates contact before she arrives back in Alaska and is arrested.