41% in taxes and fees taken out of my pay check!

btw has anybody in CA seen that little note that's being sent with the license renewals, stating that they are now sharing their info with the state tax board, and if you don't pay your taxes they'll send them after you, AND revoke your license? They want to make it increasingly difficult to operate.
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About 2 out of 20 freelance techs in my area are state licensed. Getting licensed just gives them the heads up to bark up your tree. Also there is no license necessary to work on computers that are used for work. Loophole in the law.
 
RegEdit said:
About 2 out of 20 freelance techs in my area are state licensed. Getting licensed just gives them the heads up to bark up your tree. Also there is no license necessary to work on computers that are used for work. Loophole in the law.
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Here in Sacramento, the cops regularly haul off people to jail who don't have state/city licenses to operate. Roseville cops regularly do stings, and they're corrupt as hell. These stings aren't operated by BEAR directly, but by local cops. The cops force you to pay "bail" to get out of jail, then fine you up the wazoo. The object is to wring as much cash out of you as they can. The cops get to keep all that money of course. It's easier to just pay the license fees. Did I mention that Sacramento and Placer County cops regularly kill people in their jails? They call it "suicide". Sacramento County has about 50-60 "suicides" a year in its jail, while LA Co has a handful every DECADE.
 
Here in Sacramento, the cops regularly haul off people to jail who don't have state/city licenses to operate.
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Are you talking about computer repair licenses or construction, plumbing and other types of license. They handcuffed the techs briefly but other than that there was just a $250 fine.
Here in LA there's obviously no sting operations. I doubt they have enough money to put together a sting operation in LA.
 
PCX said:
I wouldn't throw in the towel yet. You are not the only one paying high taxes. I am not sure what your overall strategy is, but here are a few thoughts.

Consider raising your prices
Target the market of people who are willing to pay those prices
Look into other services that are more profitable
Upsell on every customer possible
keep track of every expense and possible write off
get an accountant and see what they can do to save you money on taxes

These are just a few things off the top of my head. Again, you are not the only one who has to deal with this so, make more money.
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Making more money will -not- help if his problem is paying too high a percentage. It could only hurt. Keeping track of expenses is IMMENSELY helpful. Accountants, honestly, normally screw you completely. They aren't normally very up on the ever-changing tax codes. Get a licensed tax preparer.
 
I scanned briefly and didn't see any mention of it... Other than the good advice of talking to an accountant.

Depending on how you are paying taxes now (as a sole proprietor or partnership) you may be able to restructure a few minor things to change how you are taxed. We changed from being taxed as a partnership to being taxed as an s-corp and it saved us a considerable amount of money.
The down side is that you have to do payroll and certain other things much differently (and it can cost a bit of what you save)...but for us it ends up saving a substantial amount and is well worth it.
 
Why not just move your operation to a more business friendly state? Texas, Utah, North Dakota, Alaska all come to mind.
 
Many people don't realize how much keeping up with mileage on their automobile can save them in the amount of taxes they pay. Mileage is a great way to reduce your taxes if done right. As a matter of fact, every once in a while I take low paying service calls, which result in a loss due to the number of miles I have to travel round trip.
 
bsd13 said:
Why not just move your operation to a more business friendly state? Texas, Utah, North Dakota, Alaska all come to mind.
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Without digging, I not sure where you live. But if you live in the LA area like I do, you wouldn't want to move to any of those states. I live about 4 miles from the Ocean and not about to move away from here - visit other places but not move anywhere else. It's expensive to live in this area but the weather - well lets just say that this is 'Heaven on Earth', mild weather year round, not humid and sticky like the east coast, not freezing and rainy like it is up north. Our single story house doesn't have air conditioning 'cause we don't need it.

I worked for many many years for a major oil company and now reap the benefits of the social security taxes that I payed in, and I thank my mother who suggested that I join the armed forces after high school, 'cause now I reap the benefits of being able to use my Veterans medical, don't need no Medical/Medicare.:D
 
bsd13 said:
Why not just move your operation to a more business friendly state? Texas, Utah, North Dakota, Alaska all come to mind.
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I have selected Oregon. I intend to move probably to Klamath Falls. Very cold and very conservative, but I'd rather have that than California. CA weather is great, but the government is awful.
 
14049752 said:
I scanned briefly and didn't see any mention of it... Other than the good advice of talking to an accountant.

Depending on how you are paying taxes now (as a sole proprietor or partnership) you may be able to restructure a few minor things to change how you are taxed. We changed from being taxed as a partnership to being taxed as an s-corp and it saved us a considerable amount of money.
The down side is that you have to do payroll and certain other things much differently (and it can cost a bit of what you save)...but for us it ends up saving a substantial amount and is well worth it.
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Being taxed as say an LLC is very expensive in CA. There's a mandatory $800/yr fee, and sliding corporate taxes on top of that. There's really no way to escape high taxes in CA. My plan is simply to move.
 
Re;

You can increase your dependents to about 12 million at least. Just read this on Yahoo about taxes and being audited and someone listed under dependents 12 million illegals. Thought it was very funny! :)) Of course, it was a joke! :D
 
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