Thursday 29 August 2013

What Happens When Municipalities Use Rich Data Mining Against Home Businesses to Collect Tax?

Do you will realize how many Americans run a small home business? The number is staggering, and did you know that 10% of our population is self-employed, and that is something like 30 million Americans. That same 30 million Americans, also represents a group that hires over 65% of our population in their small businesses. Folks that started these little firms might expand their business and eventually hire someone, grow their business larger, actually make it into a real company. I'd say that's a good thing, and it shows that the entrepreneurial spirit in the US is alive and well.

Many people don't seem to be aware of these figures or how important they are. Did you know that 10% of our population is self-employed? Don't worry, you're not the only one who hasn't figured this out, even the President of the United States doesn't understand, or obviously he wouldn't have made that political faux pas telling small business people that they didn't build that, or that they couldn't have built their business had it not been for the government providing such a wonderful civilization and society for them to participate in.

Yes, I was a little miffed when he said that as well, because it isn't true, and I've been self-employed my entire life and I've loved my country my entire adult life as well, as have you. Now then, many municipalities are stretched thin with their budgets. Often they owe 60% of all the money they take in, in legacy cost, that is to say pensions, retirement, and health care for people who have already retired from their city employment. That means only 40% of all the money they take collect taxes actually goes to the current city services.

How can any business, much less a government operate on 40% of its income? It can't, and perhaps that's why three cities in California have filed for bankruptcy, along with a couple of other big bankruptcy municipality cases; Birmingham Alabama and Harrisburg Pennsylvania. With city budgets stretched thin they have no choice but to collect more money, and that means finding more ways to tax more people. Most cities require that if you start a business you have to get a business license, and it is considered a tax.

In some cities these taxes are only a $100 or less depending on the type of business you run, but in other cities they can run as much as $500. Most people that start a small business, especially a little home-based business don't bother to register for their business license. They don't make enough money to even afford that when they first start. But guess what? Soon I am almost positive that all these municipalities will be running rich data mining programs, and/or pay other companies to give them information about anyone who resides in their city was running a business.

They will then of course check this data and all these names against all their business licenses. If you run a business and you don't have a business license but you are doing business online, or it is mentioned on your Facebook page, you will not only have to pay the business license registration fee, you will also be charged with a penalty which could but be two or three times that amount. The cities will then have more revenue to spend by attacking small businesses just barely getting off the ground. Welcome to the future of data mining and your government. Please consider all this and think on it.



Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Happens-When-Municipalities-Use-Rich-Data-Mining-Against-Home-Businesses-to-Collect-Tax?&id=7277878

No comments:

Post a Comment