Probably has to do w/ how recently the local/state folks have audited their sales tax exemption records... :)
Here, they're pretty picky on them which discourages such "under the counter" sales as it's not a pretty pickle to get into (and can be expensive getting out).
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The store in our area requires you to have an account with them. Setting up an account requires a tax number.
And a tax number can be simply your SSN -- lots of guys in business for themselves as sole proprietorships, reporting the income on their personal tax returns using SSN as the ID#.
Jim is doing well. He's hale and hearty and just off a fishing trip.
As for why he sold the business, I wouldn't dare to presume the answer to that. I can only speculate that he felt very comfortable with the transition provided by LSS. This isn't your stereotypical 'small company sells out to big business' acquisition at all. We're making great efforts to improve what we do, not cut back in any area. In addition, the folks at LSS were involved with making the transition as easy as possible. I don't mind telling you that anyone who expressed an interest in moving had a good opportunity to explore that. It has been a great move for me so far. That makes it easier for someone like Jim to sell his business. Trust me, if the folks at LSS hadn't been as actively involved with working with the employees as they were, I doubt Jim would've felt comfortable. McFeely's has been and still is a family-minded enterprise.
Hopefully, I'll speak with Jim soon. As I'm no longer in VA, we don't run into each other and he took a pretty long vacation right after the move. I know from a few friends that he is back at work, however and cleaning up the old VA warehouse. We need to catch up and compare notes but if I know Jim, he's still putting in 10-hour days. That's just his ethic.
Ron
Hey Mortimer,
At this time, I know of no plans to sell McFeely's packaged screws in Grainger. I've heard the comment from more than one person of how convenient that could be but we've not had any discussions along those lines.
"Business identification" can be as simple as a business card that you made on your home PC, and a cell phone number.
That apparently varies from one state to the next: the Grainger store here in Indianapolis is certainly set up to collect sales tax.
It's been a few years since was where there was a branch so could have changed, or it could be an overall policy change.
The info at the web site still indicates business tax ID which typically indicates the necessary info for them to justify not collecting same...
Here's an excerpt from the New York State Sales Tax web site:
"If you intentionally issue a fraudulent exemption certificate, you will become liable for penalties and interest, in addition to the sales tax initially due. Some penalties that may apply:
100% of the tax due$50 for each fraudulent exemption certificate issued
A misdemeanor penalty consisting of fines not to exceed $10,000 for an individual or $20,000 for a corporation"
From Grainger's web site:
"SALES POLICY
Wholesale Only.
Grainger sells products for business use to customers with business identification. Identification required from all customers. Possession of, or access to, any Grainger catalog, literature or websites does not constitute the right to purchase from W.W. Grainger, Inc. (Grainger). Grainger reserves the right to correct publishing errors. All references herein to the term ?products? shall include services provided by Grainger."
and also
"Sales Tax.
Customers are responsible for all applicable taxes or for providing a valid sales tax exemption certificate."
Guess what people......
They (Granger) wants to play wiff you IF you are willing to be what they want you to be. You have NO mind of your own. You HAVE to conform. They see Bush running with that business model, so YOU better behave! YOU shalt have NO master other than ISRAEL!
Our local Grainger outlet is a "Business to Business" establishment. As a result my workshop is known to them as "Veatch & Son's Woodworking", a proprietorship. Not really too sure of the ethics of the situation, but I've not lost any sleep over it.
No mandatory minimum charges. In that respect, I see no difference between them and any retail shop except that the customer doesn't have the freedom to rummage through the stock - attended counters with catalogs handy, identify what you want to the attendant, he/she goes into the store room and gets the item, you pay for it and leave.
Mail order? Depends on what you mean. They have a web site
Note that I am speaking of a specific Grainger store and, except for the web interface, no guarantees are offered as to the applicability of this to any other Grainger store.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
Likewise in Wichita, KS. I assume that if you have a tax exemption number, you can avoid the point of sale collection of the sales tax.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
Would suspect that is only for tax-exempt sales. Numerous businesses buy materials in support of their own businesses (think physical plant). In most states, sales for those purposes is subject to sales tax. Only items being incorporated into an end product would be exempt from sales tax since that tax is collected on the end item when it is sold to the consumer. Large companies have their own internal users like facilities and other engineering shops that use commercial goods and pay sales tax on those goods.
Whoa dude! That BDS (Bush derangement syndrome) is getting pretty bad. Especially if you see that in the business model of a company that has had that policy for way more years than Bush has been in office. Israel? Huh?
You ARE kidding me, right?
Now I'm confused. I thought YOU were kidding.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
*NOT* True. The only stuff that sales tax is not collected on is stuff that is purchased "for resale". Material sold to a business, for that business's own use -is- taxable, and the seller must collect tax on it.
You have to prove a "sales tax permit/id" to escape paying sales tax on 'for resale' items. This is a very different thing from a business 'tax id' number.
Ignoring, of course, that a tax exemption certificate is something totally different from a business 'tax id' number.
*EVERY* business has a 'tax id' number. _ONLY_ businesses that sell goods at retail-- and collect sales taxes thereon -- are exempt from paying sales tax on the goods that resold as part of the finished product. In some areas, bona-fide non-profits may also be exempt from paying taxes on material purchased for internal use. An "exemption certifiate" is what one of those purchasers gives to their supplier to establish that said supplier need not collect sales tax on designated purchases.Your cite is 100% correct. Doug's statements are ALSO 100% correct.
They're just talking about _different_ things. :)
Wholesalers typically want a sales /use tax number, the kind you get from your state, not a federal ID, unless credit is requested. Income reporting by the buyer doesn't have much to do with a wholesale transaction.
My local Grainger only insists on a tax ID if they aren't going to add sales tax to the purchase. No tax number? They collect the proper sales tax, and will sell to most anyone, but at a higher retail price requiring instant payment. My local plumbing and electric suppliers do the same, there's a true wholesale "trade" price, and there's a retail price. Some wholesalers are not set up to collect sales tax at all, so they can't sell anything without a sales / use tax number to pass the tax collection responsibility along to.
Most federal tax ID numbers "06-xxx..., or an SSN" are used in the wholesale business to extend credit, which also may include a Dunn & Bradstreet rating check. The licensed trades may also have to provide their trade license number to buy certain items.
Not in the sales tax world.
Absolutely true! States vary, locations vary.
My in-law's asbestos and lead abatement company went through a "use tax" audit that took almost two years to complete. CT is absolutely a pit bull with sales tax.
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