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ORIGINAL: pinksugarsub

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ORIGINAL: hizgeorgiapeach

Aynne, a few things here.  While my Screen Name might reference Georgia, and my family is originally From Georgia (several generations prior to myself) I was born and raised in Oklahoma.  I was living in Georgia when I originally opened a CM account - hence the location reference.  I'm an Okie by birth and blood, 5 generations in the making now.  (The family left Georgia when the Eastern Cherokee were robbed and forced on a march.  Remember that, post civil war?  It's known as the Trail of Tears.)   I live in Oklahoma currently (after a brief unpleasant stint on the east coast) and run my business by Oklahoma regulatory statutes - what I take out of the company to pay the bills is reported as Income - but it is not a Salary.  It's never the same amount in any given month, and is based on the actual amount of my bills for the month, rather than a predetermined bi-weekly or monthly wage.  During months when the company runs in the red (as many new businesses do from time to time, when they're still in the start up phase), the bills get paid out of savings, which have already been taxed and therefore are not Subject to being taxed Again.  I made sure prior to starting my business that I had sufficient funds set aside that even if the company ran in the red for it's first 2 years, I still had money to pay the bills.   I fully expected not to be seeing a profit for at least the first 12 to 18 months, and potentially until the first 36 months had passed.
 
On another note - I find it telling that you completely ignored the clarification that YOU asked for, concerning families having been told to leave Europe, and that being a reason to not want to travel out of the country.

There is a tax planning technique, known as an 'S corporation', that allows owners to report earnings, but not salary, to the IRS.  i'd imagine all the states have to abide by this.  This technique allows owners to avoid payroll taxes and other tax burdens.
 
As an aside: i know nothing at all about my family.  i realise yrs suffered terribly -- yet i envy you that sense of where you came from.

pinksugarsub

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ORIGINAL: pinksugarsub

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ORIGINAL: Aynne

I read your reasoning. So if that is the case, you choose to not travel outside of the US because hundreds of years ago your ancesters suffered slights at the hands of long dead people. I just didn't get it. Their is a huge disconnect somewhere. The entire world outside of America is not worth seeing? You are missing out on much.

Travel to Europe is what i'd call 'a high class problem'.  i can't afford to travel to my MD's office.  Hell, i can't even afford the fee to apply for a passport.
 
pinksugarsub

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ORIGINAL: hizgeorgiapeach

I'm actually looking at incorporation via LLC rather than SCorp - the advantages for me as a sole proprietorship with no other employees are significantly better, especially when the fact that my start up costs came strictly from my own capital rather than borrowing anything from banks or other sorts of "investors" is factored in.  I won't have to write out articles of incorporation, like I would with regular incorporation or  an SCorp.  And I'll still be able to file my taxes on my personal 1040 rather than having to go to the hassle of filing them seperately and creating a bunch of extra paperwork for myself.  Businesses only pay taxes on Net income - ie, what's left after expenses, otherwise known as profit.  Individuals only pay taxes on Income - actual wages - which are typically considered part of those business expenses. There is no where in the law that Requires a person to take a wage - otherwise things like Volunteer Organizations would be illegal.  There are plenty of places within the law that state if you get a wage,  you must report it and pay taxes on it, and they specify under what conditions a company can be classified as a not-for-profit organization. (My business will never be a not-for-profit lol)   
 
I have an Apprentice - a 17 yr old, the son of a friend, who routinely comes and does things in the shop with me - without pay - in exchange for me teaching him a trade.  Do you think I report him as an Employee?  Hell no, because he's Not an employee - he's a volunteer. It keeps him off the streets and out of trouble, it teaches him something useful, and it motivates him to do things like stay in school and off drugs, since I've made those things conditions of him continuing to act as my apprentice.  This is a kid who - even though his family are poor (not sure if the electricity is gonna be on from one month to the next, don't always have something to put on the table kinda poor) - humps it consistantly finding himself odd jobs.  He mows lawns in the summer.  When the pecan trees in his yard and the neighbor's were loaded, he made some money both by picking up the fallen pecans the neighbor didn't want to deal with, and by harvesting the nuts and turning them into candy and muffins and selling them in the neighborhood.  He's motivated as all get out, and I've been damn proud of his efforts over the past several months.
 
As a sole proprietorship, I don't face the same Type of "employment" taxes as corporates - or even small companies that have employees other than the owner. I pay a much lower self employment tax as a sole proprietorship than I would if I were to get an EIN (employer identification number) and incorporate myself as a standard corporation.  The taxes on my business, for example, are much different having no other employees than say the taxes on DA's business that has multiple employees, or even the Partnership that aynne mentioned having once been part of.  I'm not even sure what all the tax laws are concerning Partnerships or Limited Partnerships, since this has been a sole proprietorship from the get go.  The same will be true as an LLC.  The primary advantage for me to be gained via incorporation as Either an LLC or SCorp is that it effectively Legally seperates "business" from "personal" and greatly reduces the amount of personal liability I hold (the risk of losing things like my Home) should someone get a bug up their butt to sue over something.  In our currently litigation crazed society, that sort of CYA is simply good business sense.  Either way, prior to even getting started filling out paperwork for things like my state sales tax permit, I did research on what was going to be the best option for me business wise, both short term and long term.

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ORIGINAL: Aynne

You reference our litigious society yet you see no issues with having a teenager "volunteer" for you? Meanwhile legitimate small businesses pay thru the nose on payroll, taxes, insurance, overhead, etc.  Why is is that DA hires illegals to pick up his dog sit and clean his house and you think having teenagers volunteer for you is okay, yet you guys are the first to bitch about liberals getting someting free from the system? Anyone else see the hypocrisy here?

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ORIGINAL: kittinSol

Let's have a laugh and go down to the beach: it's going to be a hot, hot, hot day  .

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Must be nice.  Some of us actually have to work, though.

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unless they're in kind  .

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ORIGINAL: kittinSol

Some of us are still waiting for their work permit and would rather not risk break the law  .

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ORIGINAL: kittinSol

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ORIGINAL: Aynne

You reference our litigious society yet you see no issues with having a teenager "volunteer" for you? Meanwhile legitimate small businesses pay thru the nose on payroll, taxes, insurance, overhead, etc.  Why is is that DA hires illegals to pick up his dog sit and clean his house and you think having teenagers volunteer for you is okay, yet you guys are the first to bitch about liberals getting someting free from the system? Anyone else see the hypocrisy here?

I do. The double-standards would be laughable if those holding them weren't so fucking self-righteous.

What can we do? Let's have a laugh and go down to the beach: it's going to be a hot, hot, hot day  .

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Meanwhile legitimate small businesses pay thru the nose on payroll, taxes, insurance, overhead, etc.

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Why is is that DA hires illegals to pick up his dog sit and clean his house and you think having teenagers volunteer for you is okay,