CASH ONLY stores deprive cities of tax revenue (Pexels photo).

Show Me The Money Dept.: It’s a new year (still), and that’s a good time to address lingering problems and resolving ongoing conundrums (I love that word).

As cities in Orange County take a look at their budgets for 2026-27, a keen eye may notice a certain … uh … divot … in their bank accounts.

I’m talking about “cash only” businesses.

These are usually small retail operations where the proprietors – often “mom and pop” enterprises – don’t collect sales tax. That has the effect of reducing the cost of a can of Dr. Pepper Zero to the consumer, but also deprives the city (or county, etc.) of tax revenue which goes to repairing streets, paying the police and fire, etc.

Thus a Butterfinger that retails for $1 stays at $1 when handed across the counter, no sales tax added.

Alternately some businesses don’t record the bulk of tneir sales, at all.

There are a lot of reasons why this happens. Some retailers do it just to simplify bookkeeping. Some do it because they come from a culture where tax evasion is widely practiced because the government is corrupt or downright oppressive.

It is a tough problem to solve. The cost of canvassing each liquor store or nail shop would be prohibitive. The other reason is that such a canvass would be about as popular as the Stamp Act of 1765 that helped spark the American Revolution.

But for whatever tax money is essentially “withheld” that has to be made up elsewhere or represents a public service gone without. Something to think about in 2026.