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market-farming - Re: market-farming - non-farmers at farmers markets

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  • From: "delannw" <delannw AT dlogue.net>
  • To: "market farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: market-farming - non-farmers at farmers markets
  • Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 07:15:48 -0500


Unfair business practices should never be allowed at farmers markets. A
market manager who allows this needs to find something else to do on
Saturday morning. Dori, you might have responded that a successful market
is a profitable one.

This really stumps me. In retail, competition is practiced in many ways.
Nevertheless, recent legal actions against companies like Walmart show that
some practices - even at that level of retail - are considered to be unfair
or illegal.

Personally, I think that anyone selling produce at a farmers' market should
be a grower...even if a hobbyist. No one should be allowed to do 100%
resale at FM's. That's the way I would have it anyway.
I notice ads in market publications for frozen pies, jellies and jams,
honey, syrup, etc... that marketers can buy, label themselves and sell as
though it is their own product.

At our last meeting, we had a representative from the Illinois Revenue
Service do a sales tax presentation. What a surprise for some people who
thought that growers didn't have to collect sales tax on farmers' market
sales and even more surprising for some who didn't even have a sales tax
license and were (perhaps) hoping not to report their income from sales.
According to our tax rules, the organizer of the market (presumably the
market manager) is required to file a monthly report with the revenue
service indicating the name of each vendor's business/farm, the person(s)
who own the business/farm, the address of the business/farm, the Illinois
business tax number for each vendor, and the dates and locations of the
farmers' market sales. I hope this scared the hell out of some people.
Even not-for-profit groups are required to collect a pay sales tax if they
are selling at retail for more than a couple times a year. Boy was I glad
to hear that!

Localities get a copy of this list and expect to receive a percentage of the
sales taxes (the town and county each get a cut). Oh, and agents can show
up to collect sales tax from vendors and collect income tax from
out-of-state vendors. I think that our hobbyist vendors might find it
easier to sell out of their own yards instead of having their presence at
sales reported to the revenue service every month. Farmers' markets ought
to be run with a for-profit, business orientation. Localities might welcome
well run markets where shares of sales taxes will benefit the towns and
counties as well.

Del Williams
Farmer in the Del
Clifton, IL






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