Sacramento city planning dept told me that I did not need a business license to sell several hundred dollars worth of poetry booklets. This would be considered a hobby. After a year was up I would call them to see if a business license was required based on what I sold for the previous year. On the advise of other writers who told me poetry does not sell well I decided to try to sell it myself for one year before looking into publishing it which is very expensive.
The city told me that I might need a seller's permit however and to contact the board of equilization. The Board of equilization said I needed the seller's permit. We had several discussion over the year when they sent me notices of sales tax due and I went to see them to discuss their letters. I was on a yearly basis to pay sales tax only once at the end of June. They never told me I needed to get a business license even though I asked them if everything was in order. At the end of the year, Mbia told me, that the board had reported to them that I did not have a business licence. The board denies that they reported this to MBIA. I believe the list of people having seller's permit is only available through the Board of equalization. Mbia told me that they had tried to reach me several times but I never got any of those letters.interesting huh?
I have gone into talk with each of these city and state departments and what they are now saying it that if you have a seller's permit you need a business license. When I asked him how i was suppose to know that, they told me it was my responsibiility to know the law. I told them that is why I checked with them in the first place and I was given nothing by the city and in the board materials it says a licence may be required by the city. It does not say it is mandatory that you have one and i had already checked with them and they said no I did not need one at that time.
In eight months the policy has changed. I was not notified that I needed a business licence or was I sent a bill for one by the city. Can you imagine what a mess we would have if the dmv did not sent out reminders for car license and changes but sat there saying it was our responsibility to know the law?
When I talked with the supervior at the board, Juanita, she tried to trap me in confessing that I had not paid sales tax for the 3/05-6/05 last year or was she just that incompetence that she did not know how to decide what needed sales tax and what did not?
Sacramento has long has a huge problem getting small business started and I can certainly understand why after the experiences I have had here. Is this not practicng business scam and business fraud? I certainly feel lied to and jerked around by them. The more I talk with them the clearer it is that they are in their positions only to collect as much money as they can get away with. MBIA will not take off the charge for a license this year even though I have not used the sellers permit. Everything pointed toward getting me to get a seller permit in the first place. Then they manipulate the fact that I did not have a business license. They down play that they told me I did not need it, lied about reporting that to the collection agency, and take no responsbility in helping me straighten out this matter.in fact they are saying you cannot sell anything in Sacramento unless you have a business licence. I asked him if I had a apron or some jam I had make and some one wanted to buy it could I sell it without a business license and the fellow from MBIA said no. Now I think that is ethically wrong. Has our country come to this? I am not making a profit on my sales, if I was I would not fuss about paying this license and delinquent taxes.
It sure feels like a scam, and it sounds like scam to me. What do you say?
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