[LordKyron]

ok I wrote this ("e-mail") and want some "weedback" on this subject.......



""hey I have a question.....I want to know how you, Hot Box can charge a sales tax for credit card transactions when your suposed to be non profit colecting donations tax free. give us the name of the tax and who levies the tax please. if you do not tell us he says he'll look into it further with the state and will mention you guys by name/location/tax claim.

and why is the "sales tax" rate higher than 8.75% the current state sales tax?
why only on credit??
why when no profit?? non profit???
who is the agency that collects this tax and can we contact to confirm???
why are you the only collective I've visited that charges this tax??
why when I've mentioned your sales tax to other collectives they look at me and say "this is supoosed to be no profit no tax" and they claim no such sales tax exisits??? are they lying to me?? are they dodging paying the tax???
I demand answers people for I smell a rat.

hope it's all legal.

Go to you to save only to get dinked $60 in tax just because it's a credit card??? no way dude never again. just because of this I may never shop Hot Box ever again so you lose anyway.....there are deals just as good as thease elsewhere I'm shure and for a DONATION not TAXATION.

prove beyond doubt you're tax is legit. you won't, you can't and I'm betting It isn't.""



I wanna know what you know and what you think......

[jd123]

Originally Posted by LordKyron

ok I wrote this ("e-mail") and want some "weedback" on this subject.......



""hey I have a question.....I want to know how you, Hot Box can charge a sales tax for credit card transactions when your suposed to be non profit colecting donations tax free. give us the name of the tax and who levies the tax please. if you do not tell us he says he'll look into it further with the state and will mention you guys by name/location/tax claim.

and why is the "sales tax" rate higher than 8.75% the current state sales tax?
why only on credit??
why when no profit?? non profit???
who is the agency that collects this tax and can we contact to confirm???
why are you the only collective I've visited that charges this tax??
why when I've mentioned your sales tax to other collectives they look at me and say "this is supoosed to be no profit no tax" and they claim no such sales tax exisits??? are they lying to me?? are they dodging paying the tax???
I demand answers people for I smell a rat.

hope it's all legal.

Go to you to save only to get dinked $60 in tax just because it's a credit card??? no way dude never again. just because of this I may never shop Hot Box ever again so you lose anyway.....there are deals just as good as thease elsewhere I'm shure and for a DONATION not TAXATION.

prove beyond doubt you're tax is legit. you won't, you can't and I'm betting It isn't.""



I wanna know what you know and what you think......

please dont take this the wrong way, just trying to help clarify things for you

all retail stores in the state of california have to pay sales tax. especiialy MMJ dispensarys. if there not paying there taxes they are not a legal buisness and are subject to civil/criminal charges. so i would say there tax is pretty legit.

HOWEVER the majority of collectives nowadays includes the sales tax in there posted prices. (I.E. in l.a. county with 9.75% sales tax your 50$ caps are really selling you that eigth for around 45.20$ the other 4.875$ is going to the state/city) which is probably why the other collectives acted confused when you asked about additional sales tax. so your complaint should probably be about there high prices. not there sales tax.

[LordKyron]

but they're not selling they're donating or is that angle wrong too... non profit charged sales tax??? churches sell lecture tapes.. they pay a sales tax too????

and why only on credit cards??? that ups the take on what you'd pay less in cash right???

[LordKyron]

lets also hear from a vendor too plz

[Kushism_girl]

I can't speak for any other collective (I'm not sure who you are addressing), but to shed a little bit of light on the subject...

We all pay sales tax. Lots of it. While many collectives might charge tax separately, and some include it in their donation, the state takes their percentage at the end of the year, non-profit or not. Been collecting since 2005, I believe.

In LA County, sales tax is now 9.25%. (<-----CORRECTION, should be 9.75%)
Reference the Board of Equalization: http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/l212b.pdf

Here is a Time Magazine article dated this past March... This one is about taxing even more -- again, I can't speak for all, but I do know that collectives do not mind getting taxed. Anything to move forward in our journey to full legalization.
Time Magazine Online: http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...884956,00.html

I do not have the figures on me, so I don't want to quote anything, but collectives contribute significantly to the State of California...

Hoped this helped a bit. Just wanted to clear that part up. Not sure who you were calling out in your post, but it looks like some misunderstanding....

[Kushism_girl]

Oh sheesh, jd123 you are right.... 9.75 it is... I can't even keep track anymore, I just pulled out a shopping receipt out of my purse.

As far as credit cards, it might not be a "tax" but to keep a merchant account with Visa, Mastercard, ETC, there is a surcharge that the company must pay for every transaction. That's why, sometimes in small shops there will be a sign "$1.00 surcharge to use Credit Card" - convenience stores and nail salons do it all the time.

Of course, it is upon the discretion of the collective whether to charge that surcharge, or include it in their donation.

ARCO/AMPM (the gas station) doesn't take Credit Card, only takes Debit, and charges you 45 cents EVERY SINGLE TRANSACTION in which you use your card.

[referee4]

The law does not prohibit charging different prices for cash and credit card customers.

However, the contracts between the credit card networks (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) and merchants (businesses that accept credit cards) usually do prohibit the merchants from charging different prices for cash and credit card customers.

[Cubed]

But there is a CA state law that prohibits it.

You cannot charge more to take a MC, VISA or Disc. card. The credit card companies require that you do not charge for using a credit card.

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-ca...terms-1275.php

California Civil Code Section 1748.1
http://law.onecle.com/california/civil/1748.1.html

[motocross420]

Yes it is true, merchants cannot charge the customer for using a credit card. I am not sure how well the argument that the customers are being charged "tax" will hold up in a court. It is a little upsetting to see such abuse of customers in the MMJ world when every other business in CA must play by set rules. The fact that some places would not charge a seperate tax on cash purchases and only on credit cards suggest that they are not paying 100% of the tax for the cash they take in (as it is much harder to hide the paper trail w/ credit). I guess it is only a matter of time before a customer takes a co-op to court before some co-ops get the idea that they are not above the law.

[LordKyron]

thanks everyone keep talking and fight gouging!!

It's kinda sad too..they offer a good deal and rape you with the charge card option if "tax" is included in price for cash why then 10% more for charge card????

good thread.. but i would simply not go there is i had a problem, not complain here. just me..

[eclipse]

First...sales taxes are based on "tangible sales" and museums, churches, schools, and animal shelters (which are all nonprofit) charge sales tax on their "tangible sales". Sidebar...software or items "downloaded" on the computer are not always considered "tangible sales" and many times are exempt from the sales tax issue.

Second...credit card transactions cost money...usually anywhere from $0.20 to $1.00 per transaction plus a percentage (which can run as high as 3% for American Express).

So...$100 bucks on the credit card does not equate to $100 bucks to the collective.

[mon-well]

Originally Posted by eclipse

First...sales taxes are based on "tangible sales" and museums, churches, schools, and animal shelters (which are all nonprofit) charge sales tax on their "tangible sales". Sidebar...software or items "downloaded" on the computer are not always considered "tangible sales" and many times are exempt from the sales tax issue.

Second...credit card transactions cost money...usually anywhere from $0.20 to $1.00 per transaction plus a percentage (which can run as high as 3% for American Express).

So...$100 bucks on the credit card does not equate to $100 bucks to the collective.

You basically explained it quite well. This is correct. aside* Vendors either include tax in their asking donation compensation, do not pay taxes, or the collective etc. charges taxes to the patient on the goods. Take care all!

[LordKyron]

what if it's tecnically a "donation" do churches pay on tides and offerings in excange for lecture tapes??? doubt that, and if its a donation to a collective its in exchange for a "gift" of medicine...kinda like the PBS fundraising drive when they played Grateful Dead live at Radio City Music Hall....you "donated" the outrageous 75$ (tax deductable) and they sent you a thank you "gift" of the record or video they featured that nite to promote fundraising. your saying they pay sales tax????


We all seem to want claraty on this matter it's true, but read the original thread....they charge say $200/oz right, but if you use say a credit card its 220. I don't know the customer service genious who set that one up but F that. I dont care If it's Alien Pot, I will not shop someone who I think is gouging me. sorry.

tell you what shop hot box collective on western for your next QP...really It's a great deal and good med too.....I defy you to not bring cash bring plastic money. no Medical Weed will ease the pain of what they called $70 in tax for plastic money.

do it

[eclipse]

Originally Posted by LordKyron

what if it's tecnically a "donation" do churches pay on tides and offerings in excange for lecture tapes???...

I hear your pain...but the facts do not support your position.

Church donations like "offerings" are not "taxable" since nothing "tangible" is exchanged. However, when you donate $20 to a church and receive $20 in tapes...your really purchased tapes for $20. Now, if you paid $100 for tapes worth $20...then you have 2 things going on: First you purchased tapes for $20 and secondly, you donated $80 (money given with nothing received in return).

Donations in the mmj are not "donations"--rather they are "prices". A white horse with black stripes is not a zebra...it still is a white horse....so calling a "sale" a donation, gift, barter, or compassion--does not change the fact that money is exchanged for tangible property--and all the smart collectives pay sales tax on these transactions.

Cheers!

[Eden Therapy]

We pay taxes and they are included in your donation!

[Moph]

Taxes on top of a price, or included in the price are the same thing in the end. Be very careful when going to a new co-op with excellent prices; they may be adding tax at the end of the transaction without telling you. A few places in Long Beach have started doing this, which means that fewer places I will go.

In regards to charging a fee to use a credit card, if the place discounts tax off the cash price and charges it with a credit card, it is a legal transaction. As long as a merchant discounts the cash price, and is not adding a fee to the credit card transactions it is ok. If the co-op says no one pays taxes unless they use a credit card, that would be in violation since the normal price is the one without additional taxes. A bit shady, but it is just one more thng to take into account when visiting a co-op.

To be honest, it is in the best interest in a co-op and a customer to be open about the charges when using a credit card. Even though merchants do pay a fee for credit cards, people using credit cards are more likely to want to purchase more than they normally would, offsetting the fees. If these was no profit in taking credit cards, no merchant would accept them. Avoid places that give cash discounts if you have to use a credit card, and be sure to know the price of what you are purchasing after taxes so you know the true price.

[LordKyron]

I'm actually glad to hear tax revinue is collected in the respect it (is supposed) helps give back to the comunity....just the clarity of it all. ya know??