Man charged with state sales tax theft

Officials say the Safety Harbor antiques dealer had his bags packed and was pulling out of his driveway when he was arrested.

By ED QUIOCO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 5, 2003

SAFETY HARBOR -- In the mid 1990s, state revenue officials were trying to collect sales taxes from Jacksonville businessman Raymond Wall when he disappeared.

Now Wall has turned up in Safety Harbor as the owner of an antiques store, and is again suspected of collecting sales taxes but never turning them over to the state.

When investigators caught him this time, Wall had packed his belongings in his car and was pulling out of his driveway.

"He evidently did have plans to relocate," said Dave Bruns, a spokesman for the state Department of Revenue.

Wall, 46, was arrested Monday and charged with grand theft. Investigators say he stole $20,874 in sales taxes that he collected from customers from July 2001 to June 2002 but never sent to the state.

"This was not an accounting error," Bruns said. "Our allegation . . . is that Mr. Wall was deliberately attempting to defraud the taxpayers and the state."

Wall had financial control of Galleria 509 on Main Street and the Tampa Bay Trading Centre, an antique mall at 1600 S 10th St., according to arrest reports.

Invoices examined by the state show that those businesses collected sales taxes even though the companies were not registered with the state, according to a sworn statement from state financial investigator Philip J. Wilk. Businesses that sell anything the state taxes are required to report to the Florida Department of Revenue the amount of sales taxes collected.

Wall never submitted tax returns or tax payments to the state, the state says.

"The fact that this guy was collecting taxes from customers, even though he never registered, is the clearest proof that this was deliberate," Bruns said. "Virtually everybody walking down the street knows that if you collect taxes, you can't keep it."

Stealing sales taxes not only deprives the state of money that supports vital services such as education and health care, Bruns said, it also gives a business an edge over the businesses that are paying their taxes.

"The honest business person is then at a competitive disadvantage with the thief," Bruns said. "That's not the way the world ought to work."

Wall was taken to Pinellas County Jail and was scheduled to be released Tuesday night on his own recognizance. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. He also could be made to pay the stolen taxes, interest and investigative costs.

Wall's court records state that investigators have a sworn statement from his wife, Barbara, who claims that Wall made the decision not to remit the taxes. Barbara Wall sued her husband for divorce last year. Three employees also told the state that sales tax was collected at the businesses and that Wall controlled the decision-making and the bank accounts.

"He never sent us the first tax return," Bruns said. "Not one."

-- Ed Quioco can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or quioco@sptimes.com .

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