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Jersey Seizes Landmark Olga's Diner

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[b]Olga's Diner[/b], a 48-year fixture on the Route 70-73 intersection in Marlton, New Jersey had to close its doors last week when the state seized it for back taxes. According to the [i]Philadelphia Inquirer[/i], the owners of the diner owed around $37,000 in sales taxes. Back in 1995, Roadside wrote about this very subject soon after the closure of the Kenwood Diner in Spencer, Massachusetts. In an article about the "Sales Tax Time Bomb," we spoke with tax expert Mark McQuillen: [quote]Seizure is a very visible but actually very little-used tool to recover unpaid tax revenue. "The state would prefer to keep the business operating, because it increases their chances of of recouping the tax money, but the owner has to realize his or her priorities." In other words, if your business owes the state back taxes, you don't spend money on cable TV or getting your house sided. He also dispels the myth that it's counterproductive to close down a revenue source. "If someone can't go to your restaurant, they'll go to the one down the street." Either way, the state gets the money. "They don't get any enjoyment from seizing businesses," Mark admits. "It is absolutely a last resort." What often happens, he reports, is that when business turns sour, some owners will dip into what they collected for the state in meals taxes. "If the owner is short on cash and the meat man comes to the door or the light bill, the owner thinks, 'I'll just take it from out of the meals tax and put it back later.' The problem is it never works out that way. He never catches up. But the bottom line is that he's using money that's not his. It belongs to the state." [/quote]