Re: Are you guys aware of this ticking time bomb?

On 10/20/2024 9:27 PM, Sergey Kubushyn wrote:

Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:

On 10/20/2024 8:11 PM, Sergey Kubushyn wrote:

Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:

On 10/20/2024 1:12 PM, Sergey Kubushyn wrote:

Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:

On 10/19/2024 3:54 PM, Sergey Kubushyn wrote:

The cherry on the cake is that most people are not even aware they have to
submit such reports...

>
Of course, you are aware that you have to report and pay "Use Tax/Transaction
Privilege Tax/Sales Tax" on any items for which you did not have said taxes
taken out at time of purchase.  Regardless as to whether you are a business
or a private individual...
>
I.e., there are likely many requirements that you are unaware of.
You *do* have a lawyer and accountant, right?

>
I don't. I'm a one man shop filing my business taxes as Schedule C on my
personal tax return.

>
That's your mistake.  Do you also diagnose your own health conditions?
Do your own plumbing?

>
You hire somebody if you have money for this. And actual need. You probably
don't understand that there are many different situations.

>
You obviously (by your own evidence) *needed* someone to keep you aware of
such things.  Instead, you are complaining because there is some requirement
that you now are faced with that you consider irksome.

 You still don't understand. I'm not complaining. Filed that form and forgot
about it. The original post was to WARN others who are not aware of that
sneaky law so they won't get fined unexpectedly.
 It is YOU (not you personally but general "you") who started totally
irrelevant thread.
 

I have a permanent full time job. This is my main income source. I do also
have an LLC that I use for side contracts. Those are quite rare, don't even
happen every year. Didn't have any in 2023 and none this year. The LLC cash
flow is negative -- not even counting other expenses, just business license
cost pushes it in the negative territory. Do you think there is NEED for
hiring somebody to do nothing? And where the money to spend on such hiring
is supposed to come from?

>
Then close your shop!  Stop whining about the fact that it costs
money to make money.  Make wooden birdhouses in your garage and
sell them at local flee markets -- and hope your income doesn't
rise to a level that attracts attention to that "unlicensed"
business.

 Why should I close shop? You probably don't understand what REAL engineer

You don't need to run a business to be an engineer.  I closed down my shop
years ago -- yet have been working continuously on new projects.  I
just don't peddle my time!

is. And what is the life time passion to learn new things. I don't do this
because I HAVE TO for feeding my family. I'm a principal electrical engineer
with a big company with offices on all 6 continents, with a revenue in
billions. That pays good enough so I don't have to do those side contracts
or whatever. I'm picky and only take what's interesting and challenging, not
just ANY job that can make me some bucks. My primary job is similar, it is
always something new and challenging. It is probably difficult to imagine
that some people do whatever they love instead of what they must to earn
their bread and butter.
 I like what I do. It is my lifetime passion for 50 years and I hope to die
doing stuff that I love to do. Would've been bored to death doing the same
routine job over and over again, day after day.

Wunnerful.  Your point is?

Highly recommend reading books, they rule. Try to start with e.g.
"Profession" by Isaac Asimov.
 

The other use for that LLC is to get calibration agreements and other stuff
with big companies that won't even talk to individuals. Ever tried Fluke for
example? And they are not an exception. Did you try to get proper Internet
connectivity with legal IP addresses where you can run your own server farm?
With your own domains, DNS, email, and everything else?

>
Again, if you don't have the money to play in that park, then
don't!

 I don't do it for money. I have enough from other source. And it is boring
to death doing the same job over and over again. It generates some money
from time to time when some interesting contract happens but it is not just
to earn some. You won't take your money with you in your grave. And doing
that just for money is boring. I'm engineer and I do engineering, not just
making money however I could. Not just electrical engineering but also other
stuff like software and more.

Find an organization that needs something engineered.  I've
designed several systems for nonprofits /pro bono/.  They
gave me opportunities to learn new technologies and deploy
solutions -- *without* requiring payment from a "client".
Because solving problems is more important to me than
being PAID to do so.  And, because often there are sizable
problems that are impractical to *pay* for solutions!

As of doing own plumbing -- yes, I do. As well as woodworking, HVAC, small
construction, electrical, and whatever else. And I do all kinds of welding,
machining, metalworking, building prototypes, do software engineering close
to the bare metal and much more. I know that I will do it better than most
of so-called "professionals", will be confident that the work is done
properly, it will cost me way less than those "professional" services, will
do way less damage to my nervous system, and it is FUN to learn new skills.
I do have many licenses/certifications like e.g. EPA Universal HVAC that
allows me to work on ANY HVAC system. And I have tons of tools for
different trades that I purchase instead of paying "professionals" order of
magnitude higher price for each one-time job which is poorly done most of
the time.

>
But you clearly don't have the skills to track the legal requirements
of your "side" business.
>
Or, just don't want to be bothered with them.
>
Yeah, I know.  Filing tax reports is annoying... why don't I just
skip them?  It's also annoying to have to put away my tools
each time I use them...

 I do file my tax returns. There is no need for a special accountant for
that. I'm not in some boring business with thousands of receipts and such.
If I do a contract, it is usually rather lengthy thing with high price and
very simple accounting -- I just send an invoice every 2 weeks and get it
paid. With the same customer, maybe a couple or so per year. Don't need an
accountant for that. Especially when this doesn't happen EVERY year.

You need an accountant to keep abreast of any OTHER requirements
that might apply to your business.  Ditto lawyer.  I bring my
*completed* tax returns to my accountant each year.  I let him
review my work and advise me of any errors I may have made as well
as let him see where my activities lie -- so he can advise me of
upcoming rule changes that I might want to be wary of *or* exploit.
He, likely, belongs to organizations (for a fee) that keep *him*
up to date on legislative changes, etc.  I pay *him* for HIS access
to that information so *I* don't have to monitor congressional
and state actions to avoid running afoul of any (or, missing out
on any opportunities)
People pay for expertise.  Pay or figure how else to acquire it.

OK, that's going nowhere, no reason to waste time on that. Read
"Profession", recommended. There are many thousands of other good books but
that one is probably a good thing to start with.
 Have lots of more interesting stuff to do than engage in empty demagogy. I'm
giving up, you can declare yourself a winner.
 

Also, I've been taught that an engineer must be able to do himself whatever
he wants the technicians and other workers are supposed to do to implement
his design. E.g. one may be not as skilled to do tricky welds but he should
be able at least start and keep an arc otherwise he has no moral authority
to make any demands on the workers and technicians. When you can do whatever
they can do you have their respect.
>
And those clients/customers who hire me are NOT one man shops. They have
money to burn and they don't have experience so they actually have a NEED.

 ---
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