Does anyone who did Carbondale Mountain Fair know what this means in this years packet:
"In the meantime, if you don't already use a point of sale app, please start looking into it. Use of a point of sales app may be used as a criteria when we select next year's Early Acceptance Vendors."
I don't see what this would have to do with getting juried in. I use Clover Go (like Square) but consider my banking info private.
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I suspect there is some revenue capture initiative afoot in Colorado. At Cherry Creek, there were state employees going booth to booth to collect tax ID numbers and proof of registration with the state of Colorado! I had to have my husband to send an email with a PDF of the registration papers to the agent. They're not fooling around!
I think the reveneurers are scounging for every penny of revenue they can find. In almost 30 years of doning shows in the west, I have never had my licenses checked, but I always have them in the booth.
After a day and multiple responses on Facebook sites, the consensus is that state taxing agencies are after their tax revenue from shows, knowing some artists don't pay and some of these events are large sources of local and state revenue. This fits with why they would ask for FEIN or SS when paying sales tax at end of show. These are tied into your business license for corporation or sole proprietorship. The taxing agencies at least then know if you did the show and if you paid sales tax on credit card sales. Cash sales are still out there in the grey area. It doesn't seem like shows are trying to eliminate cash sales or cash only artists. Thanks for comments here and elsewhere. I will contact show later in year to get their input, just not right now.
I would assume they want their artists/vendors to use some sort of CC processing app. There are still folks out there who do cash/check only I guess, and they may be trying to make it easier for customers to buy by encouraging everyone to accept CC. I don't see anywhere where they are asking for confidential info or for you to provide a bank number, just a yes or no whether you do use a a cc-acceptance app?
That's the least onerous reply I have received. They also ask for your FEIN when you pay sales tax.The best explanation I have received is tax collection agencies cracking down on shows to report sales tax from all participating artists. It's is all wrapped up in compliance issues. Out west, cash is still used a lot, so a card only show isn't realistic. I don't know of many artists who run cash sales on devices, just credit cards, unless they use it for inventory control. Maybe a few newbies don't accept cards, but it is a necessity these days. Thanks for commenting.
I am midwest, and I know a bunch of people who haven't gotten to accepting CC yet. I know probably 90%-plus of my sales are CC anymore, but it may vary a lot by price point and the type of shows folks do too.
I do agree that it feels like an odd question- I have never done a show that cared one way or the other how the artists/vendors handle sales except occasionally to recommend that taking CC might be a help in the beginning-of-show packets. This seems like a lot more investment in the answer if they are threatening to have it affect acceptance status. But honestly, someone could probably say yes regardless since I can't see them walking around checking up on you during?