Me....all weekend!

The Berkley - Fireline saga

Last week I was contacted by the the Senior Brand Marketing Manager from Berkley concerning the issues that some beaders have been experiencing with Fireline.  At that time he told me there had been no change to their formula, that there were no EPA regulations on biodegradability that they needed to comply with and that they knew of a bad batch (or more) of Crystal Fireline and provided the spool numbers should anyone wish to return it to where they purchased it from.  The batch numbers are: A-28-14-3, E-6-14-1, A-21-14-2 and they are all Crystal 6#.

I replied to his professional and thoughtful email by letting him know there were still unanswered questions, such as issues with Smoke colored Fireline, what the "Improved" packaging meant if there had not been a change made, and the fact that representatives from Berkley had replied to more than one inquiry that there had been a change made in their formula.

Yesterday afternoon I received a conference call from this gentleman as well as two other officers from Berkley.  They too were polite, engaging and open-minded with their questions and comments.  They were eager to hear about my own personal experiences with Fireline as well as that of my customers and peers.

I explained to them the problems I had experienced and relayed comments from my customers that lined up with my own experiences.  They asked several questions to confirm and learn more.

They then replied saying that the beading industry is a large and important part of their Fireline sales and that our concerns are very important to them.  They are aware of EPA regulations but they have to do with lead content, of which Fireline contains none.  They said there had been an improvement made to the coating on the Fireline to help with abrasion and while this improvement was originally designed for the fishing industry, they felt it would also be a benefit to beaders as we also deal with a level of abrasion on the line as we drag it though bead holes.

While they were not aware of any issues from their end with Smoke Fireline they were very interested in learning about and helping to solve any issues I had mentioned to them.  As such they will be sending me samples of line to test.  I said I would be able to recreate the same project I was beading when I first experienced issues and would be happy to test each of the samples on that same project and let them know my experience.

I also asked them, once all testing and quality issues had been explored if they would be so kind as to provide me with an official statement from their company that could be shared with Planet Bead.  I feel strongly that they do have our best interests in mind at this time and that they are willing to work hard to solve any issues that may have occurred with their product so that it remains a reliable alternative for us to use in our beadweaving designs.

As soon as I have further information I will pass it along. 

Happy Beading,

Your baby...

One day you have a “twinkle” in your eye.  Before you know it you have conceived.  Your excitement cannot be contained.  Can I really do this?  Am I old enough?  Am I smart enough?  Will I have the resources to protect this baby from harm?  Will I know how to raise it properly?  Too many questions!  But oh how excited you are!

You clean and paint and prepare with ever growing anticipation.  The day is drawing near.  You tell everyone you know and beam with pride when they share in your joy and congratulate you.

You stay awake nights wondering….what shall I name it?  Will it be healthy?  I hope I’m not doing anything wrong!  I would hate to harm it in any way.  I am just so excited….it’s almost time now!

And then!!......all the sweat, all the tears, all the money, all the exhaustion, all the excitement leads you straight to that beautiful day….when you flip on the open sign to your brand new bead store!

She is unique…one of a kind!  And you put so much of yourself into her creation.  The pride can barely be contained.  And then the visitors come and they praise you on how beautiful she is, how fresh and new she looks and smells, how happy they are that she is finally here and they will come and visit her often.  And they do.  And she grows.  And you continue to nurture her and put in every waking moment - and many sleeping ones - into her well-being.

As she grows you watch over her carefully…not too fast now, you’ll bust out of your britches!  But not too slowly either…the excitement of new people coming to see her is amazing.

She is a joy and brings you comfort and joy and you find that all you put into her comes flowing back over you easily.  You have made her a success!

And then one day she gets a little hurt…maybe someone said something to hurt her feelings, or maybe another stepped on her toes in their rush to pass her by?  Maybe the area she lives in isn’t always easy to get by in?  Maybe she had to watch some of her friends close their eyes for the very last time and she wonders if it will be her turn next?

But you keep putting your heart and soul into her well-being. 

And then one day she really stumbles hard.  She is bruised and shaking and bleeding pretty badly.  But once again you pick her up in your arms and put all of your energy into making the hurt go away.  You work hard once again to fix her back up.  But this time the hit was really hard and one that she will never fully heal from because it remains a daily threat.  It is huge and looming and lives high up on the hill and is constantly throwing rocks at her like a bully would. 

You taught her to have pride.  To be honest.  To be fair.   You taught her to learn to adapt.  To never confront the bully as that just gives the bully more fuel for their fire.  You taught her to just pick herself up, dust herself off and try again, and again, and again.  Sometimes daily.  She knows this road well.  She has been walking it now for many, many years.  But always around the corner lies another obstacle.  Some days they are so huge it seems there will never be a way to overcome them.  Some days she wonders if it is worth it. 

The bully will never go away.  And more bullies join it over time.  Sometimes coming out of nowhere.  She feels the pressure as more and more of them join in.  She sees her friends all over the country, all over the world dealing with the same issues she is confronted with daily from the bullies.  Some days that gives her strength, some days it makes her wonder when it will all stop being worth it.  Some days she feels she has very little breath left in her.

And then she sees all of her friends waving her on.  Smiling and supporting her and reminding her how much she is loved.  And she picks herself up yet again….

Dear friends,
The next time you walk into your local bead store, (or whatever locally owned business you may visit), take a moment to consider your words.  If you say something hurtful, consider the connection that store owner has to their business.  If you compare them to another similar business, think of how that could hurt if someone said their child was better than yours.  They are proud of their business, whether they conceived it from infancy or adopted it along the way.   They carry a love that runs very deep for what is held between those four walls.  Consider how some of us actually view them as our babies and the time and energy and love we’ve poured into them. 

Consider the time that has been put into making this a special place for you to visit.
Consider the obstacles the business has to overcome, sometimes on a daily basis, to provide you with something you want or need. 

Just be kind.  You never know what they may be dealing with.  Some days just a smile can help them climb that next hurdle.  And every day your support is priceless in more ways than you can ever imagine. 

Thanks for listening to my heart express how I feel about my own bead store.  I’m pretty certain all those other little stores sprinkled across Planet Bead feel a lot like I do.  

The Tax Man Cometh!

 

I’ve been having a little issue with regards to misnomers about sales taxes and tax exempt numbers that has been bothering me.  When I’m working at a show there is rarely enough time to explain to shoppers who may be misusing their state tax exempt number why this is not only illegal, but also harmful to their state.
Plus, who wants to hear a vendor lecture you when you’re just trying to buy some beads? 

But, I feel the time has come where I need to speak my mind because I truly think that most people don’t fully understand the concept of a tax exempt number.  And my own personal experiences with the State Board of Equalization (BOE) over these past 30+ years hasn’t done much to help me learn about them either.  I had to do research and speak with numerous BOE employees, CPA’s and assorted tax gurus to gather my facts.
As a business owner I feel it is my responsibility to educate myself on how taxes are to be collected, repaid and dispersed.

Let me start by pointing out a few key points:

A tax exempt number does not automatically qualify you to purchase “wholesale”.   “Wholesale” in its true meaning is that you are purchasing in a larger quantity to then break down into a smaller quantity for resale.  The wholesale pricing structure is to allow for each handler to make a profit during the sale. 

A vendor may opt to give you a discount along with not charging you tax when you present your tax exempt number but they are not obligated to do so. 
They are also not obligated to accept the use of your tax exempt number.  A seller, at their own discretion, may opt to charge you tax regardless of your exempt status. 
They may also set a dollar amount you are required to reach before they will accept the use of your tax exempt number.  Keep in mind there is additional paperwork that needs to be kept track of and filed for a tax exempt sale, so the extra work for the seller deserves a sale in a dollar amount that justifies that.
When you’re at a show and the vendor is not charging you tax regardless of your tax exempt status they are breaking the law and depriving your local economy of much needed funds. 

A tax exempt number is issued by your states BOE and when you signed the agreement with them you agreed that if you did not pay tax on your purchase of goods that you would then either collect sales tax when you resold the goods, or the item created from the goods, or you would in turn also collect a tax exempt number.  Eventually at some point down the line the sales of goods needs to have taxes applied to it. 
The purpose of the above is to avoid double taxation on a commodity, however, many times I hear people make comments that lead me to believe that they think the number just excludes them from having to pay sales tax.  That would certainly make us pretty special if we just got a little number that said we no longer had to abide by the law.

I also witness, on more occasions than I care to admit, people “sharing” their tax exempt number with their friends.  Now don’t get me wrong….it is your prerogative if you’d like to break the law, but as a seller I have also agreed when I accepted possession of my tax exempt number from the BOE to conduct business that I would willing report any fraudulent usage I may encounter of another tax exempt number holder to the BOE.  In other words, if I know you are committing fraud, I am supposed to turn you in!

It is one thing if you are a designer and you bring “buyers” to a show with you and they are shopping for your company.  But if your friend just wants to avoid paying tax?  That’s illegal and is subject to massive penalties, fines, interest and also qualifies for jail time.  If you are ever audited (horrid ordeal with this government office!) they will require you show proof of every single one of those purchases and if you cannot it is a horrible outcome.  They can seize your cashbox, register or whatever other item you may have been using to conduct business.  They can lock and bolt the doors to your business.  Put a lien on anything of value you may own including taking your home.  And yes, sadly, I have witnessed just that take place with someone very close to me.

What are those sale tax dollars for anyway?  Well, they are used by each state in varying degrees for things like maintaining your roadways, improving your schools and the level of education given at said schools, providing for government agencies such as your local police, fire and emergency response services plus much more.  You can find out how your local sales tax dollars are used in your city, county and state by contacting them or googling for the information.

So really do any of us have a right to try and avoid paying taxes to help support those systems? 
I agree there should not be double taxation on an item, but if you are using your tax exempt number and then making your girlfriend a pair of earrings, by law you are supposed to declare that percentage of your sale on your tax forms when you file them and pay the appropriately due taxes at that time if you did not pay them at the time of purchase.
Or if you do sell the wares you have made from your tax exempt purchases you are required to collect the appropriate sales taxes at the location where you are making the sale, or you also need to collect and keep a copy of that persons tax exempt number.

Tax exempt numbers in many cases do not apply to goods such as tools, books or kits.  The reason being is that you will not be reselling these items but will be using them yourself.  If the vendor did not charge you tax on them during the time of purchase you are legally obligated to declare them when you file your sales tax.

Just as there is a line available on your sales tax form for declaring product you purchased and did not originally pay tax on but have used for personal means, there is also a line if you paid tax on the goods and then resold them.  You are eligible to have that amount of tax refunded back to you.

Finally, it should be understood that sales tax amounts (or the percentage of the total sale of the goods) is based on the location where the sale took place.  So regardless if you are from another country or from a state that does have sales tax, if you are standing in a city, county, state, country that does collect sales tax you are required to pay that amount.  You are not exempt just because your state doesn’t collect them.  You know the saying, “When in Rome”?  It applies in this instance.

I think I’ve covered some of the major points that have been irking me.  And let me clarify that they don’t just irk me because I am a business owner.  I agreed when I went into business to deal with the mounds of paperwork…it comes with the job.  You should know that the part that irks me the most is people’s neglect and willingness to pay taxes for meaningful needs.  You don’t get to complain about the lack of education your state offers if you are one of those people who aren’t properly paying your sales tax.  You don’t get to complain about the potholes in your roads, or how the divider lines are so worn out you can barely see which lane you’re supposed to be in.  You don’t get to complain that there is never a police officer around when you see someone driving like an idiot or texting in their car and risking lives.  You don’t get to complain that there are not enough mental health facilities available to help deal with the ever growing population of homeless people on our streets.  You don’t get to complain about any of the services that your sales tax dollars would pay for if you are one of the peeps I’ve described above.  

Edit Addition - As my BFF and one of my biggest competitors Betcey pointed out in the comments, tax exempt/resale numbers are industry specific.  When you applied for the number you had to tell them what you would be buying/selling.  This in turn means that just because you have a number that allows you purchase beads/jewelry supplies at a tax exempt status, it does not give you the right to purchase landscaping supplies, cosmetics, cars, etc.  So if you present a tax exempt number for Joe's Plumbing Service to buy beads you are also breaking the law. 

If they weren't industry specific we'd all be able to walk onto any car lot and buy a car sans sales taxes.  But you better believe the car dealership is not going to risk their business by allowing you to do that.  Sadly, because most of our out of state numbers are presented at trade shows, we have no way of really knowing if you're using the correctly issued number or not.  It falls on you to be honest about it.  And it will fall heavily on you should the BOE audit you.

My intent with this post was not to tick people off but to hopefully share a little of what I’ve learned in regards to tax exempt numbers.  I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that none of us like the thought of having to pay taxes of any kind…but I think we would like our world much less if we had no schools, no police, no fire departments, no laws, right?

Let’s all help each other out by being socially responsible tax payers and do the right thing!

With respect,

Beki