No One Pays Taxes On Business Not Done

I have been reporting on the increases in September state tax revenues for at least 14 states so far, and have suggested that this should be interpreted as a sign that the economic activities subject to state taxes (retail sales, individual income earned, corporate income generated, etc.) are expanding as the economy improves.   

In today's "The Gartman Letter," Dennis seems to concur that the improving tax collections reported for September are a sure sign of economic strength:

"We don’t know many things upon which we can count on unequivocally, but we can count upon this: no one in history has ever paid taxes upon business not done. Taxes are paid on business done; on deals consummated; on sales made and delivered; on hours worked and billed."