State revenue commissioner Bart Graham rejects calls for a drastic overhaul of his department.
With legislators charged with the task of cutting deeper into the state’s budget, every dollar counts. And a group of Democrats says the current structure of the Department of Revenue leaves hundreds of millions of dollars of sales taxes uncollected.
Graham says lawmakers calling for a major overhaul go too far. And he says some proposed options to take the place of state collection are not good ideas – such as ‘privatizing’ the work:
"More collectors will always collect more money, but if you go to that model, you’re going to leave your small businesses at the risk of being subject to scrutiny and audit by a private company motivated by how much money they collect."
Graham also says paperwork could increase for retailers if private, or local government tax collection methods are put into place.
Graham will give budget committee members an update on his department next week.
