Meeting on tax collections set

GAINESVILLE - Local government leaders from Hall County have been invited to a pow-wow in Atlanta Wednesday with state revenue officials to discuss sales tax collections.

County Commission Chairman Tom Oliver said last week he wants the county to start collecting its sales taxes... something the state now does. Oliver said the county is losing 30 percent of its sales tax revenue to what he called "confusion"  at the state revenue department - and that that lost revenue is going into the state treasury.

State Department of Revenue officials will be available to address Hall County's concerns about accurate collection and distribution of sales tax. The county and its cities have been participating in a pilot study for the last five months to ensure that the county, its school boards and municipalities are receiving the proper amount of sales tax collected from local businesses.

State Rep. Carl Rogers arranged Wednesday's meeting. City and county school officials and representatives of the cities and towns in the county have also been invited to the session.