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Wisconsin is holding me up

Posted by Sheila Wissner on March 25, 2010 at 4:20pm in Business of Art Fairs
I got a notice today from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue that I owed them $649.93 because I did not pay my sales taxes for the last quarter of 2009.
I did exactly one show in Wisconsin last year and paid my taxes on time.  Now I have to go through a bunch of rigmarole to prove I paid them.
Has anyone else had a problem like this with Wisconsin or any other state?  It's very upsetting.
Sheila

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  • Edwin Schmidt May 19, 2010 at 10:25pm
    I have not done any shows in Wisconsin so don't have any experience with them. However in 25 years of doing shows I have had a few misunderstandings with various states. I have found that a phone call usually the number on your letter, generally clears up the matter. Be friendly and don't get irate with them. Usually they can find the info and clear matters up. Sometimes the payments get credited to the wrong quarter and cause the misunderstanding.

    Ed Schmidt
  • Chris Hoyt March 26, 2010 at 6:43am
    I hear all kinds of horror stories about New Jersey. But I can tell of a personall account I had with an agent who showed up at a show. He came to our booth before the show opened, flashed his badge and politely introduced himself. (He looked like Gordon Liddy!) He said we were in arrears for our last quarter's return. But I knew we sent it and told him so. He was very professional and gave me his card and asked me to see if the check had cleared and to let him know. It turned out I sent it, but they didn't get it. I called and he said to simply stop payment and reissue the form. I had to pay a late fee, but I had no "confrontation" with the agent.

    The stories of them demanding cash are untrue as far as I know. I won't give ANTBODY cash to settle an overdue tax bill. However I have seen exhibitors get in their face and start yelling at them. So I imagine they will threaten to confiscate inventory, etc, but I've never seen it happen.

    But my main complaint about NJ is that unless you're incorporated, your tax ID is your Social Security number. And for that very reason I will never post my ID card at any show I do there.

    Larry Berman said:
    As Linnea said, you need to fax them a copy of your canceled check. The problem may be that banks no longer send back your checks. But you can view a copy of it through your online banking and print it out.

    One of the worst states is (or used to be) New Jersey where even if you signed up for a temporary license they would expect annual returns. There have been stories of the state tax mafia showing up at craft shows and confiscating inventory and vehicles unless you paid them a large fee in cash at the show.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Sheila Wissner March 25, 2010 at 6:18pm
    I did send it certified and have written them a letter with copies of the canceled check and certified letter receipt. I hope they are satisfied with that. I also asked them to close my account since I'm confining myself pretty much to West Michigan this year. I suppose next year they'll try to tell me I didn't close my account.
  • Linnea Lahlum March 25, 2010 at 5:58pm
    Forgot to say, make sure you create a complete paper trail. I chose to mail mine certified because I wanted that proof. Keep copies of all letters you send with your documentation, so you can refer to them in the next one.
  • Larry Berman March 25, 2010 at 5:46pm
    As Linnea said, you need to fax them a copy of your canceled check. The problem may be that banks no longer send back your checks. But you can view a copy of it through your online banking and print it out.

    One of the worst states is (or used to be) New Jersey where even if you signed up for a temporary license they would expect annual returns. There have been stories of the state tax mafia showing up at craft shows and confiscating inventory and vehicles unless you paid them a large fee in cash at the show.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Linnea Lahlum March 25, 2010 at 4:52pm
    How about your cancelled check? Over the years there have been several states that "lost" my returns. All it needed was to send a copy front and back of the cancelled checks. For one state I had to send it 3 times, but in the end it was done. In the end I started sending all such copies by certified mail and mentioned this in my letter.

    I always say (not that I enjoy saying it) that most state governments rise to their level of incompetence.
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