Is there an official position taken by ASMP Georgia on what photographers need to collect sales tax on? I am new to the State of GA and did most of my work out of state until recently. I began shooting for a magazine here, read the blog and posts here and contacted the GA State Sales Tax Dept. They said they had to do some research and then after researching this basically stated that I must collect sales tax on assignments done within the state of GA for the entire amount invoiced UNLESS the images are delivered electronically. If I give them a disc or a hard drive, I MUST COLLECT SALES TAX on the entire shoot: props, hair and make-up, creative fees, everything; FTP Upload = NO SALES TAX. Of course, the magazines and accountants for the magazines said they had never heard of such a thing, even when I quoted directly from e mails from the State Tax Department. So I wanted to know if other photographers in the state of GA have had other experiences and how they deal with clients that think they don’t owe the tax and refuse to pay? Any thoughts?

I am one of the many UT photographers who recently received this self-audit and I did submit my sales and use tax return with no sales tax collected. The bulk of my work is editorial for local magazines with all images delivered via FTP – likewise for the few portrait sessions I shot last year those images were also delivered electronically.

On 28 Jan 2009 I attended a Utah Sales and Use Tax Workshop held at the Tax Commission in Salt Lake City and hosted by a Sales/Use Tax Trainer a Collection/Compliance Specialist. In that class I specifically asked about my type of photography and I was told without doubt that as photography was a service those portions of my sales were certainly not taxable. The UT Tax representatives were both unclear about the sales of my images as I don’t sell prints rather I deliver the images to clients solely via FTP electronic transfer and thus may not have been considered tangible goods. After some investigation I was later told that based on the description of my business I did not need to collect any tax on my sales. Further, they did advise that should I sell prints in the future that I should be sure to itemise my invoices as such, as sales tax would only need to be collected on the print sales portion of the sale; If I invoiced as a single item and prints were involved then I would need to collect sales tax on the whole sale.

- mike
Calanan Photography, LCC
SLC, UT

However, I strongly believe that we need to form a lobby for photographers. I don’t believe that there is one and that makes us very vulnerable against the policy makers.

I will have to blog about this and find support from fellow photographers in order to fight this.

Please feel free to contact me, if you can contribute in any ways to fight back on this issue.

A sample carte de visite (CDV) from the studio of prominent Cleveland portrait photographer Edgar Decker with attached revenue stamp on the back can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cunningba/3348416476/

Now you can go to a bar without being a member and drink more the state gets more tax, before you needed to pay a membership fee at every bar/club so visitors wouldnt visit many places.

So photogs. get screwed by getting taxed as well.

It does not matter if you obey the laws and have the written clarification.

Virginia audited every photographer in the state. Even the ones that were doing it right by the books, were found to be doing it wrong, unless they appealed and were given an “clarification”.

I wish you the best of luck and you do not need permission from anyone to state your opinions.

Now allow me to comment about photographers’ business practices in the matter of sales tax: all over the map, with lots of violations. There’s nothing quite like hearing a photographer tell me what our state’s sales tax laws *should* be, and running his business on that basis, even though it’s contrary to sales tax law. And there’s nothing more common than a photographer attempting to “fly under the radar” as he neglects to register, neglects to file, neglects to remit. That’s the commonplace.

I would love some feedback on this? Any attorneys in the house?

“It’s difficult to sympathize.”

Will you feel the same way when you are under pressure from the state to pay taxes for something the state told you was not taxable?

The problem here is the states offer (much like the Feds) conflicting advice, counsel and a set of rules that are unreadable or understandable.

There is a southern state that says prints are taxable but polaroids are not, that portrait photographs shot in a studio are, but if they are delivered to a client they are not.

Are you so sure they are enforcing laws they’ve had on the books for years? The very real possibility is that they are looking for new sources of revenue in this downturn and feel that the laws can be “adjusted” to their favor.

The revenue-raising opportunity for Utah (and for New York and California and Illinois and Georgia and Insert Your State’s Name Here) lies in enforcing *existing* laws. Some photographers are scofflaws when it comes to sales taxes and payroll taxes and labor laws, including workers’ comp and unemployment.

It’s difficult to sympathize.

Yes, you are correct. And much of international copyright law has been written to suit the Disney Corporation.

Hooray for Hollywood.

There are companies in Delaware that set-up offices to handle the billing, delivery, everything. Hell with what you save on taxes you could afford to fly there every few months to collect your gear that you recently purchased and is owned by a Delaware corporation.

“If you deliver a job electronically, via an ethernet cable, an e-mail or an FTP transfer then there is no sales tax due.”

This is because cinemas showing films in CA and NY that were going to be beamed down from satelites to theaters did not want to be taxed. The law was written this way for the film industry.

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney in the state of NY. When in doubt, seek the advice of an accountant and tax attorney.

long story short i charge everybody tax except out of state. if i buy it online
i pay sales tax every quarter to Utah for those purchases that did not have it.

don’t have to like it just pay it
could be worse i might have to be working for a living….
and next time i will just use the money to buy a car

Of course, I also have to deal with Texas laws, since I spend part of the year there doing shoots. The only time it gets annoying is the entire interstate commerce issue. All this stuff makes me want to set-up a corporate location in Switzerland, and bill all my clients from there.

It’s knowing that there are people in the same state doing the same or similar work, which is being used in the same or similar end use, and they are not having to charge sales tax, making my rates 9.5% higher. Which really isn’t that big of a deal, it’s just the principle. Not to mention the whole WTF questions from clients wanting to know why I’m charging them tax when others aren’t.

*Disclaimer-Lord knows I’m not whining. I fully understand how fortunate I am to be doing what I do. Regardless, some days sweeping floors and taking out trash sure seem attractive.

“A photographer may also render services such as developing, retouching, and tinting. ”
========================

Tinting? Nope, never been asked to tint anything for commercial gain before. Maybe this is some new goldmine of profitability waiting to be discovered.

Just off to register http://www.protinting.com – I smell $$$ ;)

thanks for the insight.