taxing on homegrown food????

[rhoda_bruce]

I am not usually able to watch much tv, because of the # of kids I have and chores and all, but some of my friends and co-workers have asked me if I heard anything about the government possibly taxing homesteaders that grow their own food, which I hadn't. But apparently there was a rumor that someone had considered this. Does anyone know if there is anything to this, or is this some kind of scare tactic or joke that went around? Normally, I wouldn't give it a second thought, but this is the first year I see advertisments for disguised coops that look like something else and read about hidden gardens and such.

 

[Wifezilla]

Hadn't heard that one and hubby and I are news junkies. Now there is plenty to worry about, mainly with animal ID, regulations, etc... being proposed, but I haven't heard anything about garden taxes of any sort.

 

[rufus]

Government's desire to tax is unending. It would seem that if in one year you raised a certain amount of produce, eggs, poultry and meat for your own consumption that government would like to impute that much more taxable income to your gross income. There is nothing as all enduring as a bad idea. Please don't mention this to anyone, and maybe it will be forgotten.

Why don't they tax people for the food stamps and WIC they receive?

Rufus

 

[Dar]

news stations will do anything just short of makin the stuff up just to get ratings... i hate the news

 

[Tala]

I just don't see them having the manpower to check up on everyone's backyards, ya know?

What are they gonna do, track my grocery receipts and figure up that I haven't bought eggs from the store in 3 months so they should tax me for the eggs that I DID NOT buy?? Possible I guess, but doesn't seem very likely.

 

[Wifezilla]

It does sound silly but there was a couple that got a bill for gas they didn't buy. They had a diesel and were running their car on old restaurant vegetable oil.

"DECATUR - David and Eileen Wetzel don't get going in the morning quite as early as they used to.
So David Wetzel, 79, was surprised to hear a knock on the door at their eastside home while he was still getting dressed.
Two men in suits were standing on his porch.

"They showed me their badges and said they were from the Illinois Department of Revenue," Wetzel said. "I said, 'Come in.' Maybe I shouldn't have."
Gary May introduced himself as a special agent. The other man, John Egan, was introduced as his colleague. May gave the Wetzels his card, stating that he is the senior agent in the bureau of criminal investigations.

"I was afraid," Eileen Wetzel said. "I came out of the bathroom. I thought: Good God, we paid our taxes. The check didn't bounce."
The agents informed the Wetzels that they were interested in their car, a 1986 Volkswagen Golf, that David Wetzel converted to run primarily from vegetable oil but also partly on diesel.

Wetzel uses recycled vegetable oil, which he picks up weekly from an organization that uses it for frying food at its dining facility.
"They told me I am required to have a license and am obligated to pay a motor fuel tax," David Wetzel recalled. "Mr. May also told me the tax would be retroactive."
Since the initial visit by the agents on Jan. 4, the Wetzels have been involved in a struggle with the Illinois Department of Revenue. The couple, who live on a fixed budget, have been asked to post a $2,500 bond and threatened with felony charges.

State legislators have rallied to help the Wetzels.
State Sen. Frank Watson, R-Greenville, introduced Senate Bill 267, which would curtail government interference regarding alternative fuels, such as vegetable oil. A public hearing on the bill will be at 1 p.m. today in Room 400 of the state Capitol.

"I would agree that the bond is not acceptable, $2,500 bond," Watson said, adding that David Wetzel should be commended for his innovative efforts. "(His car) gets 46 miles per gallon running on vegetable oil. We all should be thinking about doing without gasoline if we're trying to end foreign dependency.
"I think it's inappropriate of state dollars to send two people to Mr. Wetzel's home to do this. They could have done with a more friendly approach. It could have been done on the phone. To use an intimidation factor on this - who is he harming? Two revenue agents. You'd think there's a better use of their time," Watson said.
The Wetzels, who plan to speak at a Senate hearing in Springfield today, recalled how their struggle with the revenue department unfolded.
According to the Wetzels, May told them during his Jan. 4 visit that they would have to pay taxes at either the gasoline rate of 19½ cents per gallon or the diesel rate of 21½ cents per gallon.

A retired research chemist and food plant manager, Wetzel produced records showing he has used 1,134.6 gallons of vegetable oil from 2002 to 2006. At the higher rate, the tax bill would come to $244.24.

"That averages out to $4.07 a month," Wetzel noted, adding he is willing to pay that bill.

But the Wetzels would discover that the state had more complicated and costly requirements for them to continue to use their "veggie mobile."
David Wetzel was told to contact a revenue official and apply for a license as a "special fuel supplier" and "receiver." After completing a complicated application form designed for businesses, David Wetzel was sent a letter directing him to send in a $2,500 bond.

Eileen Wetzel, a former teaching assistant, calculated that the bond, designed to ensure that their "business" pays its taxes, would cover the next 51 years at their present usage rate.

A couple of weeks later, David Wetzel received another letter from the revenue department, stating that he "must immediately stop operating as a special fuel supplier and receiver until you receive special fuel supplier and receiver licenses."

This threatening letter stated that acting as a supplier and receiver without a license is a Class 3 felony. This class of felonies carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
On the department of revenue's Web site, David Wetzel discovered that the definition of special fuel supplier includes someone who operates a plant with an "active bulk storage capacity of not less than 30,000 gallons." Wetzel also did not fit the definition of a receiver, described as a person who produces, distributes or transports fuel into the state. So Wetzel withdrew his application to become a supplier and receiver.

Mike Klemens, spokesman for the department of revenue, explained that Wetzel has to register as a supplier because the law states that is the only way he can pay motor fuel tax.

But what if he is not, in fact, a supplier? Then would he instead be exempt from paying the tax?

"We are in the process of creating a way to simplify the registration process and self-assess the tax," Klemens said, adding that a rule change may be in place by spring.
David Wetzel wonders why hybrid cars, which rely on electricity and gasoline, are not taxed for the portion of travel when they are running on electrical power. He said he wants to be treated equally by the law.
David Wetzel, who has been exhibiting his car at ene
rgy fairs and universities, views state policies as contradicting stated government aims.

"You hear the president saying we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," Wetzel said. "You hear the governor saying that."
State Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, also plans to support legislation favoring alternative fuels.

"I'm disappointed that the Illinois Department of Revenue would go after Mr. Wetzel," Flider said. "I don't think it is a situation that merits him being licensed and paying fees.
"The people at the department of revenue apparently feel they need to regulate him in some way. We want to make sure that he is as free as he can be to use vegetable oil. He's an example of ingenuity. Instead of being whacked on the head, he should be encouraged.""
http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/article_5dae2327-a3cb-5bba-ac4c-14dac3b83327.html

 

[TipsyDog]

I heard they also want to meter and tax your water. Private wells and anything you collect - including roof runoff! This is all thanks to that Cap and Trade bill they are trying to ram down our throats, among many others....

 

[Tala]

Quote:
He's bragging too much that's why the government thought they should dip their hand in his pockets.

I sure hope merely being a BYC member doesn't mean the government is gonna come knock on my door to ask about my 4 pullet's egg production rates!

I don't let anyone in without a warrant.

 

[Big C]

FYI,
Look up HR 825.
Instead of "taxes" they would be "regulations and standards" that require permits at a cost.
Contact your State Ag agency. Here in Texas they are developing "voluntary" regulations and standards that would become mandantory if the federal law is enacted. This info is from our districts state rep's office. They basically told us that if we did not want these regulations then we would have to contact our fed congressional office overe and over and voice our opposition to the proposed federal law. Also, they advised us to continue to voice opposition to any State Laws and Regs that would require permits for the same.
You must be proactive with your local, county, state and federal elected representatives. You can be dang sure that other who WANT to cost you money in new "Laws and Regs" are doing this. Vote in your local elections.
Basically, if your not proactive against something that costs you money for your home/business operation and procative in your community/county/state/fed then all the grump in the world will only return stress. If things don't go your way, then take advantage of the new "laws/regs". Proactive again. Build in the costs of the new laws and regs before they are enacted when costs are low.

Your question is just as relevant to the current health care bill and cap and trade. All will affect your money that you have for your family. Only thing is that your concern and ours is that it is "not as important to the country political debate" and will affect everyone who makes money off their homestead.

Not that many people are homesteaders anymore. Even those who are, the majority are not informed enough to defend themselves against new laws and regs by their state/fed govs. You should look at your states and federal web sites. You would be very very concerned about "proposed" new laws and regs that will impact REGULAR people that own their home and property and want to sell for profit.

We have been researching this in our state and have been "voluntarily" accruing costs for our farm/home operation while costs are low. Once any new laws regs are enacted then costs will rise since all affected will have to comply and costs will exponetially rise.

 

[Big C]

Quote:
Jeez,
Just about when I'd thought that I'd heard it all on discouragement of American ingenuity for the problems we have...