So you want to "own " your own company

I would like to see legislation where those who misappropriate funds collected for one purpose and then redirect them to other projects be prosecuted and thrown in prison. It would stop some of this type of behavior.

 

Sort of and not for long LOL.

GA still charges sales tax on new and used equipment sold by dealers. Value on any trade-in offsets the tax amount. Sales tax only on the net sale amount. Private sales do not have sales tax applied. However out of state purchases (new GA title) will come with a state sales tax invoice in the mail. Additionally there is ad-valorem tax every year, collected by the county tag office. On CMVs you have to go to the county and pay that before going to the IRP office for plates. Also with CMVs, a carrier with authority is exempt on sales tax but not the ad-valorem.

That's about to change as there was new law passed recently to eliminate the ad-valorem tax that's been tacked on to the annual registration. No savings actually, as it will get shifted into a new title tax paid when you first register your vehicle. A lot like W2 withholding and rip-off "documentation fees" dealers stuff into a deal, the new method is designed to bury the tax into a line item on the buyers order so that new car owners are less likely to notice the money being taken from them (versus seeing it every year they renew their plates). Like the current a-v tax, I don't expect any exemption for carriers with authority like they get on sales tax. It's only a shell game designed to shift the burden of the tax off to people that trade vehicles more frequently.

Funny thing about new or changed taxes and rationalizing them by some sort of purpose, benefit, or intended market benefit or consequence. The burden never really goes away, only shifts to some other more apparently deserving tax target. Same with the expected benefits. They always come with an equal and opposite consequence. One thing you can predict without a doubt is that new and changed taxes are always implemented in a less visible way to fool the general public into believing they are getting something for nothing.

 

I suppose they could say that they reduced taxes as long as you don't look too closely. They reduce them in one respect, but add taxes in another area.

 

Precisely. Next year, the majority of motorists in GA will get a nice $20 tag renewal and believe they are saving a ton of money. They won't notice the title tax on the buyers order of a dealership purchase. Only the private sales will see it actually tacked on to the title application, which is now only $18. I'm sure there will be news features on tv as soon as people get their heads knocked off with $1,000+ fees for titling new (to them) cars at the tag office when they showed up with a $20 bill in their pocket.

 

It used to be great to have an old vehicle in Georgia since the ad velorem tax was based upon the value of the vehicle. It would kill you with a new car.

 

I am planning on selling a used vehicle in Georgia in the next few months. The way I understand the new law, as seller, I have to pay a sales tax of fair market value of vehicle. This car has sold 3-4 times in its lifetime, why should another tax be imposed? Georgia taxes are getting high and they have about the worst school systems in the country.(Yes my property taxes went up again this year).

 

Yet another (more) reason(s) why, despite INSURANCE being higher in Florida (especially South - and I'm told it's all due to hurricane losses/potential) - it's still less expensive than neighboring states.

Rick

 

As I recall, Georgia stated that they were going to eliminate sales tax when the lottery was in place. Although sales tax has been reduced in some areas, it is still around. It is just another reason to not believe any government when they tell you that they are going to eliminate a tax. We have a sales tax in my country that was only supposed to be around for a year. It was supposed to be temporary. It is still with us and it has been well over 10 years.

 

More along the lines of costs associated with state income tax, and personal property tax - neither of which we have in Florida.

Funnier though - is that Full TL/Cargo insurance package (own authority) is $3-4K more expensive in South Florida, than in Central/North/Panhandle. Have a friend with a farm, close to the I-10/75 Interchange (Lake City). Much as rates out of SoFla suck ANYWAY, may just pay him to rent a cottage on his property, change my business address to there, and leave the rig up there between runs. Though I do have a couple of (potential) direct-shipper clients in SoFla, that I can get a decent rate from (outbound), as well as one in the western panhandle and one in the Tampa area that will pay a decent rate inbound to SoFla (since they can't get anyone to come in, due to the sucky rates coming out).

Base game plan, is to run 3-4 weeks in the lanes, then come back to SoFla and tend to my one IT client I plan on keeping on consulting contract. Just picking up a phone, doing remote support and showing up once a month is good for a $3-4K income stream minimum - which would pretty much cover a majority my operating expenses and almost allow me to do my own A/R (instead of factoring everything), and allow the A/R pipeline to start filling up.

Have another contact that has 5 runs per week out of ATL (FT Dry) @ $3+ that can get me going outbound.

Bigger decisions in the "So you want to own your own company" equation, centers around the options of:

A) Leasing On - Power Only.
B) Leasing On - Tractor & Trailer - which requires the decision of which freight to carry - Reefer / Dry / Flatbed, and the capital investment in additional equipment.
C) Own Authority - which requires the additional capital investment of (B), the additional regulatory, record-keeping & accounting duties that both A & B do not require.

I'm still exploring ALL options - the biggest "contingency", is where my cash capital is, come December - since my credit SUCKS - due to bankruptcy (2 years ago, a "strategic default", not poor cash management skills - well, not ENTIRELY - LOL).

Personally, I'd rather do A or B, to minimize the risk exposure of carrying my own A/R (or the expense of getting involved in factoring), and not have to deal with all the regulatory record keeping/filing/fee's stuff right off the bat. I've bumped my "initial capitalization" requirements by $50K (to $150K), since I'm leaning towards option B at this point - and I'm at about 60% of my capitalization goal already.

The question I get a lot is: if you can bank $150K in a year, doing what you're currently doing - WHY THE HELL would you want to get out of IT, and be an owner/operator?

Hmmmmmmmm.....

Rick

 

Just watch. They'll get around it by calling it a "title fee" or "surcharge" or any other thing than a sales tax for that reason. What you stated is why they send you a sales tax bill on an out of state purchase - presumably GA didn't get that first nick so they get it on yours.

G/MAN: I don't recall any claims of eliminating sales tax with the lottery. It was always pitched for funding college education (HOPE scholarships), pre-k, and technology in schools. That has delivered as promised, excepting the usual amount of government mishandling. The HOPE program is running out of money due to the "everyone's a winner" mentality. Over time, grades have mysteriously curved up to meet the HOPE minimums, as educators want their kids to qualify and go on to college. Threaten to impose higher qualifying standards and everyone is in an uproar, afraid their B- darling children won't get their "fair share." Never mind that nobody will get it in a few years if they don't limit the funding to the kids that work hardest to earn the privilege. Oh wait, I meant "entitlement."

Also be careful about bragging on states with no income tax. State government and entitlements are not funded on magic and wishful thinking. Last time I checked, FL, TN, TX, and others don't show any signs of having less government than my state. You are certainly paying it somewhere else. For example, I looked into some property in TX not long ago. Comparing property taxes on places comparable to mine here in GA, it was like $1,500/yr here and $7,000 in TX. Think that only hits homeowners? Think again - your landlord will bury that in your rent and you will pay it anyway, believe it or not. Last time I rented, there were no statements showing me how that rate was figured out. If it's not there, check out the burden on commercial entities. You are likely paying that as a hidden tax that is buried in the cost of goods and services you buy every day. The seller actually writes the tax check, but passes it into the price of your stuff and you don't even get the courtesy of a line item on your receipt.