{"id":379,"date":"2008-01-07T06:05:12","date_gmt":"2008-01-07T13:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/2008\/01\/07\/sales-tax-and-charities\/"},"modified":"2008-01-10T22:13:52","modified_gmt":"2008-01-11T05:13:52","slug":"sales-tax-and-charities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/2008\/01\/sales-tax-and-charities\/","title":{"rendered":"sales tax and charities"},"content":{"rendered":"

6 Jan 07 <\/font><\/font>In response to questions from local charitable organizations, I researched how the new Elbert County Sales & Use Tax will impact local non-profit organizations. <\/font>Here are the results of that research.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Keep in mind that there are two distinct issues here, which tend to blur together:<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

– the State<\/u> sales tax: nearly all<\/u> local charitable organizations are exempt pursuant to CRS 39-26-718<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

(assuming they satisfy the CRS 39-26-718 conditions = “occasional sales”; less than $25,000 income per year; less than twelve events per year)<\/em><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

– the County<\/u> sales tax: NO<\/u><\/strong> local charitable organizations are exempt, because the author or authors of the 1B Ballot Initiative for the new county sales tax failed to comply with CRS 29-2-105 (Contents of Sales Tax Ordinances and Proposals),<\/em> and failed to address the statutory exemptions for charitable organziations. <\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Just because a local non-profit\/charitable organization has previously been exempted from the State<\/u> sales tax does not mean<\/strong><\/u> they are exempt from the County<\/u> sales tax. It is not automatic. CRS 29-2-105 (Contents of Sales Tax Ordinances and Proposals).<\/em> <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Inquiry with the Elbert County Treasurer’s Office reveals that neither the process for applying for, nor the standards for approving an exemption from the County sales tax have been established. <\/font><\/font>Because no<\/strong><\/u> local charitable organizations are exempted from the County sales tax, until they are, every one of them must collect sales tax on all items sold, as set forth in CRS 39-26-105 (Vendor Liable for Tax). (See also CRS 39-26-120 & CRS 39-26-121 re: felony penalties for refusal to report, or false or fraudulent reporting). <\/em> <\/font>Until an exemption is granted, the sales tax must be collected on all hall rentals, dinners, food sales, rummage & bake sales, and other taxable sources of income. <\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

This includes every non-profit in the County: charitable organizations, churches, political organizations, veterans groups, fraternal organizations, recreational clubs, and educational organizations. Although required by law, the author or authors of the 1B ballot initiative failed to address the CRS 39-26-718 statutory exemptions for charitable organizations. All tax proposals are required by CRS 29-2-105 (Contents of Sales Tax Ordinances and Proposals)<\/em> to address these exemptions, but Ballot Initiative 1B failed to do so, and did not address any exemptions. <\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Exemptions from taxes must be clearly set forth, in very specific langauge. Without clear langauge allowing an exemption, there is no exemption, and Colorado courts strictly interpret the tax laws where exemptions are concerned. <\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Neither the County Commissioners nor the County Board of Equalization have the authority to “re-write” or “insert” exemptions that were never there. <\/font>The 1B author’s error can be rectified by the voters at the next election, but in the meantime, that leaves only the case-by-case application & approval process. Needless to say, the exemption-approval process might eventually become streamlined from over-exercise, but right now it doesn’t exist. <\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Ric Morgan <\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6 Jan 07 In response to questions from local charitable organizations, I researched how the new Elbert County Sales & Use Tax will impact local non-profit organizations. Here are the results of that research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-county-sales-tax","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elbertcounty.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}