A Rankin County grand jury indicted Steve Page for sixteen counts of tax evasion on October 6, 2014. Mr. Page operates Fannin Mart Restaurant on Lakeland Drive. The indictment claims Mr. Page claimed only $61,830 in revenue while actually earning $285,631. It also alleges he only paid $5,543 in sales taxes to the state of Mississippi and Flowood when the tax bill should have been $25,702- a difference of $20,155. The indictment states Mr. Page "did business as Fannin Mart of Flowood, LLC".
The restaurant is something of an icon in the Jackson area and has been cited in numerous publications. Known for its down-home ways such as menus written on the back of paper bags, mason jars for drinks, fried chicken, and casseroles, the restaurant developed quite a following over the years as it opened on Hwy 471 near Fannin and later moved to its current location. Mr. Page's wife operates the
However, Mr. Page's legal woes are far from over as he faces a civil lawsuit in Rankin County court. Chimneyville Investors, LLC sued Mr. Page and his son for an breach of contract. The complaint states Mr. Page agreed to lease and operate Chimneyville Cafe for $10,264 per month (see p.12 of civil lawsuit posted below.) in 2013. Chimneyville claims the Pages personally guaranteed the lease. The agreement was made with Triple S. Food Management, Inc. However, no such company exists although Mr. Page does operate Triple S. Food Management, LLC. Chimneyville claims the agreement is null and void since the company does not exist and argues it is exercising its rights against the guarantors. Chimneyville claims the Pages owe $69,587 in past due lease payments, past due utilities, and attorney's fees ($11,452). The Pages did not appear in court and an entry of default was filed. Chimneyville filed a motion for default judgement. The court has not yet ruled on the motion.
Kingfish note: YES, the restaurant IS open.
8 comments:
Chimneyville Investors, LLC, can go ahead and write off that bad debt. The tax man will get what little is there to be gotten.
I wouldn't buy stock in Chimneyville Investors. Steve must have never opened his bank statement(s).
This is more about the sales tax than the income tax. State law says a vendor has an obligation to collect the tax and has a fiduciary obligation to remit to the state. If this was just income tax, they'd hit him with a penalty and work out something to collect the money.
They will hit him for interest and penalty for not paying sales tax. Sorry to hear about him getting busted. But Phil needs his $$$$
Could that lead to jail time?
Not a business owner in the country that reports actual income and receipts. Not sure how they can prove this, but he is just one of millions.
Heaven forbid a White Protestant should be allowed to operate a convenience store. I've heard that you have to be of a certain 'group' to operate a newsstand in America. And I heard that the umbrella/lounge chair stand at Seaside was burned down, because another 'group' won't allow outsiders to have umbrella rentals.
So, I just wonder who made the allegations - and whether they're waiting in the wings, to send a straight-off-the-plane cousin (with a government Small Business Loan, naturally) to take over the convenience store, once it's been snatched away from Pace.
It's an up-and-coming area, and a low-crime location. Greedy eyes have probably been on that store for quite some time.
@ 7:36PM - Did you bother to read the acticle? It's a restaurant, not a convenience store.
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