Milwaukee sues Bar Louie owners for unpaid taxes
13.06.2008 03:00
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- Source: JS Online
The City of Milwaukee has sued the owners of Bar Louie, the popular Water St. restaurant and bar, for nonpayment of $5,938 in personal property taxes. Bar Louie made news last summer when what was described as a "paperwork mix-up" forced the tavern to temporarily shut down and lay off most of its 90 employees. The owners filed its liquor license renewal form too late to be placed on the July 31 Common Council agenda. The council doesn't normally meet during August, but a special meeting was called in early August, and the license was approved. At the time, Bar Louie had another problem: It owed the state more than $16,000 in sales taxes. The Department of Revenue ordered the city to hold up on issuing the license until the money was paid. Last year, Michael Maistelman, a lawyer who represented Bar Louie, said the employee responsible for the slip-ups on the license application and the failure to pay the state taxes had been fired. Ald. Bob Bauman thought the state's idea of holding up liquor licenses for unpaid taxes was a great idea. "We tried to do it, but the city attorney said it was illegal," Bauman said. "The state can do it because they make the rules. They have the power to protect their revenue but they don't give the city the same authority." However, the city can file a lawsuit to try to collect its due and did so earlier this week. Maistelman said Thursday that his clients had not been served with the lawsuit yet. According to city records, the owner of the building that leases space to Bar Louie, SSG Properties, owes the city $35,409 in property taxes for 2007.
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