mrsbishwit Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 About a week or so ago someone started a thread about how Gas prices would affect the long arm quilting business. Was a good thread and I enjoyed reading it. Today I received a strange phone call from a person in AZ (not my customer but a customer of another longarmer in my state, the caller would not tell me the name of the shop but would only say that it was a small quilt shop that also provided longarm services and that it was not in my city but elsewhere in my state). She said that the shop charged her tax on the service she received from having her quilt semi custom. Ok... I am thinking what does this have to do with me, right? So after talking with her some more she basically said that she was calling other longarmers in AZ to find out if they charged tax on the service of quilting. I explained that I could only speak for myself and that I have to file taxes for my city, & state monthly but only have to charge a tax on stuff I would actually sell, like batting, backing etc... but that another longarmer in a different city of my state may have other rules they would have to follow for that perticular city even though the state law would be the same. I also told here that she should ask other merchants in the city/ town where this shop was located for a better understanding of what is going on in that area. After talking to this woman for 10 minutes I found out that 1) the quilt in questioned she had semi custom done on it was last summer. 2) she loved the work that this quilter did for her and would like to keep using her. 3) She recently talked to this quilter/shop owner and questioned the tax on her old bill and did not get the answer she wanted to hear. 4) found out that this woman also bought batting and was charged for the thread that was used (told her that the tax on her bill most likely was from those items and not actually for the service of quiltig the quilt). 5) found out that the reason why this woman is doing her investigation on tax or no tax is because she has another quilt that is ready to be quilted and would like to take it back to the quilter in question but does not want to be charged any tax on it, and thinks that if she can tell said quilter that she is taxing on things that she shouldn't (again I don't know if this longarmer is or isn't) she could get her to exempt her from the tax. All of this mind you was over a tax amount less than $20.00! Is this a glimpse into the future? Are people starting to pinch pennies so much that they will try to shave anything/taxes off the bill just to save $20 bucks? Really? Why don't they try going for a ETE instead of semi-custom instead? or even try quilting it themselves. Needless to say I got off the phone thinking to myself exactly what was this person thinking she was going to accomplish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne from Guam Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 I think that this lady just doesn't want to pay any taxes. A lot of people are like that, it sounds like so much more money if it is a 'tax' and not part of the service. I hope this lady can get over it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Very interesting. No matter what her reasoning, she should be calling state or local officials to find out if she should be charged tax rather than calling other quilters. The issue should be between the two of them. I think I'd do my best to steer clear of the whole situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Sounds like she wasted 10 minutes of your time calling you unannounced and filling your ear. Sheesh! If I understand correctly, the taxes a merchant or service provider gathers is required and is submitted to the state or local govt (depending where you live or do business)so she has a bee in her bonnet! If she is so determined and doesn't want to pay taxes she needs to get her quilts done where no taxes are required (like where I live). Anywhoo the $20 she saves in taxes will cost $20+ to send the quilt to me anyway so either way she can't win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted March 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 I agree this lady should just get over it, we all have to pay taxes for one thing or another, the only thing you can be sure of is death and taxes...it happens to all of us. The thing is, at the begining of the call my first thought was that this lady was trying to get some background at starting a longarm business, but when I asked her if she was she was like no way, I would rather pay someone else to do the quilting just not any more $$ than what she thought she should. This lady could end up being a trouble maker for the other longarmer...I tried to convince her to get over it, and look for another quilter that was more to her liking (no tax, or someone that operates their business unofficially) after all there are alot of longarmers that operate under the table. But this lady seemed like she wanted to take this other longarmer down. Pretty sad if you think about it. And all for less than $20 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mestuart Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 on another note, she could be one of the snoops and checking out where you every "slip" and not charge tax. you never know now a days. The goverment wants all the taxes it can..... Hope I'm very very wrong in my assumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Well tell her she can come to NY and pay taxes on all of it! LOL Maybe she'd be happy to pay only for the thread and batting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 There are those who will step over a dollar to pickup a dime. But when I was in NV and had my studio. It was pretty easy. Taxes on items such as batting or other sold items but not on services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 In PA we have 6% sales tax, and because I live in Philadelphia, I have to charge another 2% tax, so a total of 8%. My guild is outside of Phila and most of the members also live outside of Phila, so I am frequently given a hard time over the amount of taxes I charge. But, the law is the law. About a month ago I received a call from a woman who didn't identify herself, but said she got my name from the LQS. OK, I thought she is one of their customers and great, they referred her to me. She asked me all about my prices and this variation or that circumstance, and did I have insurance, a resale license, etc. More questions than most of my customers ever asked. Towards the end of our conversation that went nowhere, I said she could e-mail me any more questions that she might have. She said she didn't have my e-mail address. I said it is on my business cards, and asked if the store didn't give her one. SHe then said she has never been in the store, but found the name on line so called to ask about what LA quilters were charging and they gave her my number. I think she was just fishing for info either to start a business, see how her business compared to mine, or to see if I had "sucker" written on my forehead. I haven't heard from her again. I'm glad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-Jane Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Wisconsin is easy - sales tax on service and products!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmillie2010 Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Joann, did you suggest that this caller TALK with her quilter and ask HER about the taxes? sheesh ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewcrazy4quilting Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 I know people are getting "weary" of rising prices of everything. If this person is on a fixed income quilting is getting harder and harder to afford and $20 hear and there can add up. She may have more time than money so she is doing some research. Nothing wrong with being an informed consumer. Sounds to me like she is trying to build a case to get 20 bucks off her next bill using the quilter she likes. My first accountant for my business advised me to charge tax on everything, "easier that way" she said. Knowing that the other longarmers in my area do not charge tax on service, only on materials, I got a new accountant. If the longarmer is charging taxes on service in a state where services are not taxed she/he is pocketing the excess charges and I feel that's kinda wrong not to mention illegal. Mostly because when you tell people it is a "tax" they think they HAVE to pay it, and in this case it is probably NOT true. The squeeze is really on for most of us these days, and I am not surprised to see it reflected in our customers' buying decisions. I don't begrudge them for that. On the other side of the coin I am not the cheapest quilter in town and I don't apologize for that. I don't give anything away either. Fix a seam = $5 an inch. Pressing = $20.00 so on and so on. *sigh* a sign of the times that both the customers and the longarmers have to draw a hard line on prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Oregon is really easy - NO SALES TAX. Period. Of course, we have pretty high income tax and property tax. As they say, the only sure things are death and TAXES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Here in the UK, because I am a shop doing more than £50,000 per year turnover I have to charge VAT (value added tax) which is 20% so your lady is getting off lightly!. Although I longarm from home it is still considered to be part of the shop business. If you are longarming only as a business you are unlikey to reach that limit and would not have to charge VAT so I am 20% more expensive than others locally, and tend to offer discounts to soften the blow. Yvette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted March 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Originally posted by newmillie2010 Joann, did you suggest that this caller TALK with her quilter and ask HER about the taxes? sheesh ... The lady told me she already confronted the other longarmer, but didn't believe her so she was out to prove her wrong. I serious do not know what this lady expects to accomplish here...I asked her if she was willing to go as far as suing the longarmer for said $20 bucks and she replied that she wasn't at that point yet!...really? the amount she would spend on court fees, a lawyer etc...would be more than the 20 bucks that she may or not recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 How odd. All the piecer needs to do is check with her state revenue department--maybe even on-line--to see if she is being charged sales tax in error. But, she would need to know how her quilter's business is set up. In my state, sales tax is not charged for services like haircuts, repairs, etc. But my business is registered as manufacturing and I do charge sales tax (.087%--yikes!). If she finds she is being charged in error, she needs to ask for a rebate. Realize though that she is making an enemy and shouldn't expect the quilter to welcome her back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zora Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 The piecer may not know who to call about this issue. In Missouri, getting anyone actually on the phone to answer a question is near impossible. Here, one does not pay tax on the quilting, but you do pay on the materials used..thread, batting, etc. I don't mind paying taxes on things that are taxable. However, if I knew services weren't taxable, yet tax was included on my bill..I would also not be a happy camper. I would doubt that a quilter was actually paying tax to the state on services, so I would feel I was either being overcharged at best, or scammed at worse. I don't think this customer is a bad person for questioning this practice. If she brought this issue up with the shop, and they didn't rectify this overcharge, or if she brought it up to the quilter and was given an answer that she doesn't feel is correct, then she is irritated. I don't blame her. She has a right to contact others who she feels are knowledgeable on the subject. $20 is not small change, either to the piecer or the quilter. Your advice to the caller was very good. She shared her feelings and concerns with you. Where she goes from there is up to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmland Quilter Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 You all had me worried about whether or not I had been charging taxes correctly so I stopped reading and googled it. Yup, in IA you tax for alterations, garment sewing, ...any type of stitching and a whole long page of every other service you could think of. Gotta love this forum it keeps you on your toes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindasewsit Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 In Ohio you need to charge tax on service and goods. I looked it up and made a copy of it that is right there with my papers that we fill out with all the customer's info so if they have any questions, there it is...right from the state's website! linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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