3 ms·

> The rules are too complex to start a business. Not to mention the taxes, depending on where you live. When I actually went to register my side gig wedding ph

> The rules are too complex to start a business. Not to mention the taxes, depending on where you live. When I actually went to register my side gig wedding photography business it was the most confusing mess I've ever had to slog through. It's not clear, at all, what licenses you need because of the nature of the business. There's state, then there's also local/city licenses, and it's not clear on if you need one for every city you photograph at, or just one for the city you reside in (your business address). Some cities require it some don't. Then the taxes here are also just as confusing. Different rates depending on the business activity. Session fee revenue is taxed differently than digital photo sales revenue, etc. Then sometimes the service itself is subject to sales tax, sometimes not, depending on how (and where) you deliver the photos matters too. You can't be on the legal up and up without hiring an accountant and maybe an attorney to go through the process with you, which is definitely not something I wanted to do for a side gig. It should not be this convoluted or difficult to legally open a business, especially under a certain amount of revenue per year. I'm not making millions here, we're talking less than 100k/year in gross revenue. There's a reason most photographers here just....don't bother to register with the dept of revenue. Most don't get caught anyway so a lot of times its worth the risk to just..not pay the taxes. None of that bureaucracy should exist for businesses under a certain size/under a certain revenue.

stdbrouw 1y ago
In the US income from a hobby can just be added to your personal filing [1] and in Belgium, where I live, there is a similar arrangement for "diverse sources of income" [2]. If you do start a business, in the European Union you're exempt from filing VAT if your yearly revenue is below a certain amount [3]. Europe has also been pretty aggressive in getting rid of licensing requirements for various occupations and trades, certainly a photographer wouldn't need a license here. I think the trouble you faced, resulted from being at the edge of these kinds of simple systems that do exist -- big enough to need to set up a business, but small enough that hiring an accountant or spending time to familiarize yourself with the legal requirements was out of proportion to the expected revenue. That's unfortunate, of course, but doesn't necessarily reflect on the amount of red tape that exists in general in a country. [1] https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-hobby-and-a-business-for-tax-purposes https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-differenc... [2] https://www.vlaanderen.be/economie-en-ondernemen/een-eigen-zaak-starten/bijverdienen-zonder-zelfstandige-te-worden https://www.vlaanderen.be/economie-en-ondernemen/een-eigen-z... [3] https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-exemptions/index_en.htm#inline-nav-2 https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-exemp...
- thewebguyd 1y ago
  Yeah, federally there's no problem here. It's the state I live in that's the problem. Any revenue over $12,000 and you have to register with the Department of Revenue, get a business license, and start paying business and occupation tax and sales taxes (if applicable). If your business is subject to collect sales tax at all, you have to register no matter what your gross revenue is. Unfortunately, the state doesn't have any exemptions for sales tax like the EU. For some states in the US it is quite a bit simpler, unfortunately for mine it's not and it's like they do everything in their power to prevent small businesses.
  - cestith 1y ago
    All business income should be subject to a tiny share of total revenue, maybe with some portion of it being deductible like input materials, durable equipment purchases, and employee benefits. The first US state to truly grasp and embrace this will get flooded with new businesses, but it will piss off the legal and CPA firms.

stdbrouw 1y ago

In the US income from a hobby can just be added to your personal filing [1] and in Belgium, where I live, there is a similar arrangement for "diverse sources of income" [2]. If you do start a business, in the European Union you're exempt from filing VAT if your yearly revenue is below a certain amount [3]. Europe has also been pretty aggressive in getting rid of licensing requirements for various occupations and trades, certainly a photographer wouldn't need a license here. I think the trouble you faced, resulted from being at the edge of these kinds of simple systems that do exist -- big enough to need to set up a business, but small enough that hiring an accountant or spending time to familiarize yourself with the legal requirements was out of proportion to the expected revenue. That's unfortunate, of course, but doesn't necessarily reflect on the amount of red tape that exists in general in a country. [1] https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-hobby-and-a-business-for-tax-purposes https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-differenc... [2] https://www.vlaanderen.be/economie-en-ondernemen/een-eigen-zaak-starten/bijverdienen-zonder-zelfstandige-te-worden https://www.vlaanderen.be/economie-en-ondernemen/een-eigen-z... [3] https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-exemptions/index_en.htm#inline-nav-2 https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-exemp...

thewebguyd 1y ago
Yeah, federally there's no problem here. It's the state I live in that's the problem. Any revenue over $12,000 and you have to register with the Department of Revenue, get a business license, and start paying business and occupation tax and sales taxes (if applicable). If your business is subject to collect sales tax at all, you have to register no matter what your gross revenue is. Unfortunately, the state doesn't have any exemptions for sales tax like the EU. For some states in the US it is quite a bit simpler, unfortunately for mine it's not and it's like they do everything in their power to prevent small businesses.
- cestith 1y ago
  All business income should be subject to a tiny share of total revenue, maybe with some portion of it being deductible like input materials, durable equipment purchases, and employee benefits. The first US state to truly grasp and embrace this will get flooded with new businesses, but it will piss off the legal and CPA firms.