The tax man....

**beemandan** · 03-31-2011, 06:13 AM

They finally caught up with me. My local county tax folks sent me a property tax form for my bee business. They want an itemized list of equipment in the county along with the date of purchase. It would be difficult to ‘cheat’. They can do an onsite audit. I’m guessing that they have access to my depreciation schedules from my IRS or state tax filings.
I asked how I came to their attention. They said it was a result of my sales tax filings. When I sell honey directly to customers, instate, I collect sales tax on the sale. I suppose if I had chosen not to do that, I wouldn’t be faced with this property tax filing….although they would have eventually caught up with me on the sales tax thing.
Ah well…as they say ‘no good deed goes unpunished’.

**Heartspark** · 03-31-2011, 07:51 AM

So you make more than $30k a year from bees? I guess state law is different than US law in that regard in Georgia?

I'm confused by wording, you collected sales tax on honey? Georgia requires that?

**concrete-bees** · 03-31-2011, 07:58 AM

in washington state we dont tax food - so i dont charge tax on honey sells

**alpha6** · 03-31-2011, 08:07 AM

I am also confused. Why do they need a list of your equipment? If you bought it you already paid taxes on it, unless GA has some sort of VAT that you pay on equipment. I can understand them wanting to see your books on income and taxes, but your equipment...that makes no sense at all. I can have 10,000 hives and not produce a crop if it is a bad year so what difference does my equipment make?? Sounds Communist to me.

**beemandan** · 03-31-2011, 08:37 AM

It's different in each state. GA requires sales tax on....well, anything sold retail.
I'm not sure what $30,000 has to do with anything.
In GA property is taxed. That includes year end inventory and any equipment. If it's considered a capital investment and depreciated, then a tax is levied on it. Same with personal autos, homes and land here.
Again, I know it varies from state to state.
I guess the secret is to remain below the tax man's radar. I failed.
This isn't huge money. A couple of hundred hives, nucs, supers, extracting equipment and such will probably cost me several hundred bucks. The annoying thing is knowing that they would never have realized I existed if I hadn't decided to do the 'right thing' and report sales tax on my retail sales. Again....no good deed goes unpunished.

**Heartspark** · 03-31-2011, 08:44 AM

I got mixed up, my STATE, Missouri, you are allowed to make up to $30k without getting retail license..aka more taxes. My mistake :P

However, i still find it odd you have even worry about bee equipment for property tax. Every state (i think) has property tax, but thats reserved to land/vehicles/home. Not stuff on it.

The beehives (assuming you make a living off them) are subject to INCOME tax..not property. Oh well, prob just a GA state thing. :P

**sqkcrk** · 03-31-2011, 08:46 AM

No tax on food in NY. There is in GA?

**beemandan** · 03-31-2011, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by Heartspark

Every state (i think) has property tax, but thats reserved to land/vehicles/home. Not stuff on it.

I suspect that if you checked closely you’d find that if your state taxes personal vehicles/homes then they also tax businesses on the capital equipment that is used to produce income. If I depreciate my hives, etc (and I do) then those qualify as capital equipment used to produce income.
Again, it varies from state to state.

Originally Posted by sqkcrk

No tax on food in NY. There is in GA?

Yes.

**sevenmmm** · 03-31-2011, 10:19 AM

It is called property tax here in Wisconsin. The tax is lessoned every year as per depreciation.

s

I could go on about what I think this is, but this thread would be erased...

**Apiator** · 04-14-2011, 10:10 PM

In my state -- at least in some counties and cities -- it's called a "use tax." They tax you for the equipment you already own, already paid taxes on when you bought it.

The general contractor I work for on occasion about had a conniption fit the first city he ran across it in. They demanded a full listing of all his tools, trailers, and crane... then taxed him on it for the privilege of using it in that city to build a building that will generate yet more revenue in the form of property tax, and of course sales tax from the business that occupies it. Not to mention permit fees, tap fees, etc&etc.

So he paid thousands in tax just to use his own equipment in that city.

Sick.

Does anyone still wonder why there is a TEA party?

(Where's the angry exploding head emoticon?)