Business Tax Collection

Hello,

You may not be aware Cities are requesting business licenses from crafters and artists after filing with the BOE. The show venues may not be aware of this tax either.

I am a crafter in California. This year, I received a letter from Muni Services demanding I obtain and pay for a Sacramento business license for a show I did in their City. This notice was sent two month after the show. From other artist/crafters, the Cities of Richmond and Mountain View via Muni Services asked show participants to purchase business licenses after shows.

When sales taxes are filed in California, it is required to obtain individual sales tax license for each show location and dates. A company called Muni Services contracts with Cities. Muni Services audits sales tax payments against business licenses. If no City business license is found, a notice is sent to the crafter requesting payment of the City tax. Muni Services is a subsidiary of PRA Group, a global leader in acquiring nonperforming loans.

We need to know the cost of the show. This is an individual City fee, each municipality is different. Is it possible for the show organizer look into obtaining an exemption from this tax or an umbrella license instead of collecting from individual artist businesses? I know some shows are aware of this because I have paid the City business license with the booth fee.

My frustration is with the Cities and Muni Services. In contacting the shows where this happened, the promoter was just as surprised as we were.

Thank you for your time.

Phyllis

I did several shows in California last year and did not run into this problem. For cities that required a city license, it was part of the application packet, not after the fact. Maybe something is changing in 2016, or I've been lucky so far. I did my filing with BOE in California and that was all I heard.

I did a little research on MuniServices and one of the articles mentioned this "Many notices include a declaration page asking the recipient to declare that it is not subject to the tax at issue or state for which services the recipient should be paying the tax."

So they may be sending notices to EVERY artist, vendor and part-time business, although not all actually owe money. But tell us what you find out .

Replies

Camryn Forrest June 17, 2016 at 1:11pm

I did several shows in California last year and did not run into this problem. For cities that required a city license, it was part of the application packet, not after the fact. Maybe something is changing in 2016, or I've been lucky so far. I did my filing with BOE in California and that was all I heard.

I did a little research on MuniServices and one of the articles mentioned this "Many notices include a declaration page asking the recipient to declare that it is not subject to the tax at issue or state for which services the recipient should be paying the tax."

So they may be sending notices to EVERY artist, vendor and part-time business, although not all actually owe money. But tell us what you find out .
- Phyllis Williams > Camryn Forrest June 17, 2016 at 3:19pm
  
  Yes, they maybe sending notices to EVERY artist. Its a city license so all cities are different. Right now I am looking at the cost of business licenses in cites for shows I enter just incase I have to pay the tax. It maybe a good idea for us to ask if we need a city business license when we are accepted to shows.

This reply was deleted.