Question: Seller's Permits and City of Belmont

tingc888 · February 21, 2013, 01:16:14 AM

Hi,

I was wondering if any artist alley members are from Belmont and know a thing or two about the city laws regarding state seller's permits?

My friend and I want to get Seller's Permits for Artist Alley, but we're being told by the City of Belmont that... apparently you need a Business License in order to have a Seller's Permit. Business Licenses in Belmont come with a hefty $300 minimum tax.... O.O That's more than we expect to earn individually.

We had artist alley tables last year and had to close our Seller's Permits because of this (This law supposedly went in to effect last year. We are still dealing with Belmont on whether or not we can be exempted from the business tax. Their response, thus far, has been "why do you want a seller's permit if you don't plan on making a lot money?"). Dealing with Belmont officials has been a confusing cycle of inconsistent information. Does anyone here have experience with this?

Are we doomed from even qualifying for an artist alley table this year b/c of where we live?

chibimonster · February 21, 2013, 03:57:26 AM

I don't live in Belmont, so I'm not sure of this will be helpful. You aren't doing business in Belmont, and as I recall you pay taxes based on the city you do business in. If this is the case then you could avoid this tax by getting a temporary permit in San Jose, where Fanime is. I could be completely wrong, though, so you should do research into this.

phr34kish · February 21, 2013, 01:22:12 PM

I'm no state official, but I've done AA for a few years not. You don't need a full fledged business license, only a temporary seller's permit and because your place of business is going to be in the city of San Jose, you'll be subject to San Jose's tax rate - not Belmont.

Rather than working with your city officials directly, try calling your local BoE office. Or you can try poking around the state website to see if there's another way to talk to them. They should be able to answer any questions you have.

http://www.boe.ca.gov/

tingc888 · February 21, 2013, 02:00:27 PM

Hi.

So my friend and I went to Belmont City Hall today and yeah... pretty much... Belmont is not a place for artists. :(

According to the City of Belmont, if you get a Seller's Permit from the BOE, regardless if it is temporary or if you are doing business outside of Belmont (i.e. Fanime Artist Alley), you are considered to have a home business as a resident of Belmont and are, therefore, required to have the Business License and pay the Business License Fee of $277 and file tax returns with the City of Belmont. After the 1st year, the $277 fee for the renewal of the Business License can be waived if you make less than $1500, but the initial fee is non-refundable. And you still need to file taxes with the city as well as the state (for the seller's permit from BOE).

Apparently...Belmont is somewhat unique about this. Neighboring cities do not have these rules and the solution we were offered was to be a resident of another city besides Belmont. There's also another option where if you have an on-site store within Belmont, you can reduce the feel to ~$84, but then you have to pay storefront rents which... isn't a very useful option.

So in a nutshell... don't live in Belmont. >:(

Gwydion · February 21, 2013, 10:59:21 PM

You know, the one time I got an AA table, I just went to San Jose's BOE, got the temporary seller's permit and paid the taxes when I needed to. I live in a completely different county. Where I actually lived seemed to not make any difference...and I'm pretty sure they never asked me.

chibimonster · February 22, 2013, 08:54:44 AM

Quote from: Gwydion on February 21, 2013, 10:59:21 PM
You know, the one time I got an AA table, I just went to San Jose's BOE, got the temporary seller's permit and paid the taxes when I needed to. I live in a completely different county. Where I actually lived seemed to not make any difference...and I'm pretty sure they never asked me.

That's strange because your home address does go on your seller's permit, so it does matter and they should ask you.

phr34kish · February 22, 2013, 09:48:05 AM

Quote from: chibimonster on February 22, 2013, 08:54:44 AM
Quote from: Gwydion on February 21, 2013, 10:59:21 PM
You know, the one time I got an AA table, I just went to San Jose's BOE, got the temporary seller's permit and paid the taxes when I needed to. I live in a completely different county. Where I actually lived seemed to not make any difference...and I'm pretty sure they never asked me.

That's strange because your home address does go on your seller's permit, so it does matter and they should ask you.

I think the point they were trying to make is OTHER than filling out your home address on the application form, it usually doesn't get any more attention than that. :( I'm super sorry to hear about your local ordinances. I personally think they're a little nuts (And awfully unfriendly to new business. Job problems much?). Do you perhaps have a friend from out of your city limits that you could borrow for an address from? Or would that be getting too legally sticky? I'd try asking the BOE directly, rather than going to your city office. It'll be a little less bias that way.

M · February 22, 2013, 02:10:06 PM

Quote from: phr34kish on February 22, 2013, 09:48:05 AMDo you perhaps have a friend from out of your city limits that you could borrow for an address from? Or would that be getting too legally sticky? I'd try asking the BOE directly, rather than going to your city office. It'll be a little less bias that way.

I am not comfortable with finding/posting work-arounds around the law. The best thing to do is to ask the BOE directly.

tingc888 · February 24, 2013, 01:55:09 AM

Actually, it was city government that contacted us....

When we filed for the Seller's Permit last year, BOE told us there were no additional charges and all we had to do is file our taxes with them. But then Belmont notified us months later about the Business License rule. So... Dealing with city government was unavoidable. :-( Not sure why BOE didn't tell us about this rule (as they do ask you for your home address). Did they not know themselves (the woman I spoke to back then was very enthusiastic about the license and explaining tax process....)? Or maybe city law is outside of BOE's concern?

We're thinking about doing a joint thing with friends outside of Belmont, which would put the "place of business" not within Belmont City Limits. We have to research this more. Sigh... So much legal issues for a simple booth at an anime con.... :-(

Belmont sucks. The laws are not friendly to small business at all (let alone the independent seller, like old ladies at craft fairs or ppl doing garage sales). The rep we spoke to pretty much offered "move out of Belmont" as the only solution. Not her fault, but it just shows where city law is at for this.