Report: Restaurants Owe City of Canton More Than $100K for Under-Reporting Mixed Drink Sales

The City of Canton has a very particular tax problem--and an upcoming council meeting will serve to address it.

AJC.com reports that a total of 16 Canton restaurants were recently caught under-reporting sales of mixed drinks at their establishments, and therefore collectively owe the City more than $100,000 in taxes, penalties and interest.

The City Council is set to meet July 21 to discuss what to do about the problem.

According to reports, Canton law includes a tax of 22 cents per liter on sales of drinks that include distilled spirits. There is also a 3-percent excise tax on top of that.

According to AJC.com, the City hired a state-run firm to run an audit of every restaurant in Canton--in particular, their records of wholesale liquor purchases and their tax returns for the past three years.

What they were left with was reportedly a group of 16 restaurants whose numbers didn't add up.

AJC.com says, individually, the 16 restaurants owe anywhere from $50 to nearly $7,000 each--but when all added up, and penalties and interest are factored in, the amount comes to more than $100,000 in back taxes owed to the city.

Read more about the issue on AJC.com.