Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

        Umm, the city of Aspen might want to hire another “accounting specialist”…or at least one who understands the concept (and Constitutional right) of private property.

Fall from Gracy’s: fate of shop, consignment goods

Thu 08/16/2007

If you had clothing or goods on consignment at Gracy’s in Aspen, you may be interested to know that the Colorado Department of Revenue now owns your second-hand hip huggers, fur coats, furniture and jewelry.

The state tax agency seized Gracy’s on Wednesday and will sell enough of the veteran Aspen business’s merchandise and property to meet at least $3,110.89 in unpaid sales and wage withholding taxes unless owners Brad and Karen Carner meet the debt.

By state statute, “the department has the right to sell whatever’s in the store, regardless of who owns it,” said department spokesman Steve Tool.

….
The unpaid federal taxes… didn’t belong to the business in the first place… the business’s only role was to transfer it from employees to the federal government. The same is true for Gracy’s unpaid state taxes … according to city of Aspen accounting specialist Larry Thoreson, who filed the city’s $1,200 claim against Gracy’s.

“You can’t mess around with monies that don’t belong to you,” he said.

Or maybe Larry the city employee thinks “monies” are in a different category than “second-hand hip huggers.” Sounds about right for bureaucrats.

See the whole newspaper article.