BUFORD - A roundtable meeting held earlier today at the Lake Lanier Marina discussed a new bill that could potentially increase business growth around Lakes Lanier and Hartwell.
The "Marina Operator Tax Obligation Relief (MOTOR) Act of 2013" (H.R. 2795) hopes to decrease the arbitrary fees on Army Corps of Engineers Lakes. In Georgia, that fee is up to 4.6 percent of gross sales. Collins wants to cap the fee nationwide at 1 percent of gross sales.
During the discussion, Collins learned that the fee was an issue for business owners "I had asked the question, 'why do we not see more restaurants of Lanier?'" said Collins. "And they threw this fee issue out there... it's very hard and damaging for smaller businesses to absorb the costs."
Collins hopes that, with enough support, the legislation will go through the process in the fall.