My kids are budding entrepreneurs. The list of proposed businesses that my daughters, in particular, have created grows longer every day. My personal favorite – the cat owner finding business – mercifully didn’t get much interest after the initial suggestion. Their latest suggestion is an apple cider stand for the winter; they have to work on the business plan, though, as their prices are a bit steep. The thing is, they’d have to sell a heck of a lot of apple cider to pay for their Business Privilege License – in Philadelphia, they have to pay for the privilege of running a stand, kids or no kids. Then, whether they make a dollar or a hundred dollars, they would have to pay a percentage over to the City in the way of Business Privilege Tax.
Philadelphia isn’t the only government taking such a hard line. In Idaho, a family’s pumpkin stand manned by a 4 year old and a 6 year old has been threatened with a shut down notice. The roadside stand was notified by the Idaho State Tax Commission that it was in violation of state laws and must cease operations. Apparently, according to the children’s parents, Dan and Kami Charais, the state advised that goods sold at roadside stands are taxable and that the stand did not have a proper permit.
There’s no word on how much money the Charais kids were pulling in but it couldn’t have been too much: the money was helping to pay for their school sports play. And despite scouring the web, I can’t figure out how much Idaho wants from them (not surprisingly, Idaho state tax officials aren’t commenting publicly on the matter). But seriously, folks. This is how Idaho is hoping to get their fiscal affairs in order? By targeting seasonal roadside stands?
My guess is that Idaho might rethink how much they choose to pursue this matter. Stirring up trouble around the holidays is never popular. Remember Iowa’s ill-fated pumpkin sales tax a few years ago? Apparently, folks take Halloween pretty seriously in the midwest.
I can’t believe this! I had to read it three times!!
In NC, Brunswick County has the taken the position to remove all produce stands and small entrepreneur efforts, many to raise money for the extras in life that are not in the families budgets. Some of the folks who in years past, have managed produce stands from produce from their gardens, have had to resort to renting space in buildings to accomplish the long family heritage of earning monies from one’s labors.
Taxes are involved too, as is the permiting process, which isn’t free. A local wood sculpter is not allowed to setup his wares, and demostrate his skills, and obtain commissions for his work. This curtails an artisian from making an independent living, a birth right in America.
This is government intrusion into our daily lives, has filtered down from the Federal government, into state and particularly local governments. This is not a popular thing in the South as it has always been, but other regions of the country are beginning to experience the same.
So, my grand-daughters, anxious to mark their mark in the world are learning a lesson, that government tells the folks what, where, and in many case how they can conduct their livelihoods. They will never know the America of the past, when a dream of a iced tea stand on a city street was a great way to earn money.
A note: The reason I mention the iced tea stand, is that a co-worker and friend had two sons. And for a number a summers Mac and his younger brother set up a iced tea stand on their street. The local paper ran photo of these young entrepreneurs at work. They were about the ages of my grand-daughters.
Army Sgt. John “Mac” Smith, age 22, was killed 12 May 2005 in Iskandariyai, Iraq. He died serving his country and the Constitution that gives Amercians the recipe to success, no matter how large or small.
Don’t give up Katie and Amy. Know that your parents and grandparents encourage you to be all you be.
I’m siding with Idaho on this one. Definitely more to the story re parents’ involvement and relationship with the local pumpkin supplier. Sounds like a business to me. Just grownups trying to get away with not following the rules. No sympathy for tax avoidance from me.