"In a series of text messages obtained by Mission Local, Mayor Daniel Lurie's new pick to lead District 4, Beya Alcaraz, wrote that she paid some of her former pet shop workers "under the table," apparently misreporting her business expenditures and skimping on paying taxes by doing so."
"She texted that her taxes "will be less, since I pay people under the table now..." and estimated that her business held perhaps $75,000 in cash "on top of the reported revenue.""
"Accounting professionals said that while business owners cutting corners and writing off personal expenses is common, the potential tax-dodging is more serious. Jerry Dratler, a retired accountant and the former chief accounting officer of Williams Sonoma, said that behavior of this sort is "pretty prevalent" in this and every city, among businesses small, medium and large. He said the practice of overstating business expenses by paying for non-work events - and then being remunerated in cash - was "a foot fault." But he saw Alcaraz's texts as tantamount to an admission that she filed false tax returns - "and that's pretty damn serious. That goes beyond being a sloppy business operator.""
Text messages show Beya Alcaraz acknowledging she paid former pet shop workers under the table and held substantial unreported cash. She wrote that her taxes "will be less, since I pay people under the table now..." and estimated about $75,000 in cash on top of reported revenue. She also wrote about writing off dinners and drinks with friends or "clients" as business expenses and sometimes receiving cash back. Accounting professionals warned that apparent tax-dodging is more serious than routine corner-cutting. A retired chief accounting officer said the texts amount to an admission of filing false returns. The appointment to the vacant District 4 seat raised vetting and ethics concerns.
Read at Mission Local
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