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Paying sales taxes isn't easy if you don't have a bank.
The owners of Have a Heart, a medical marijuana access point, found that out the hard way when they had to bring nearly $40,000 cash in a briefcase to a Washington State Department of Revenue office in Seattle. They said it took tax collectors two hours to count the cash, which was done in full view of others paying taxes in person. "We have a big pile of money in front of us. You'd think they'd bring us into a back room, a place little more private," said Have a Heart co-owner Ryan Kunkel.
Kunkel said he and his business partner Joel Berman e-filed sales taxes for their four businesses for about two years until their bank closed their account last month. Banks are federally insured and usually won't do business with known marijuana companies because pot remains illegal under federal law. Kunkel and Berman said they couldn't get an armored car company to work with them, so they had no choice but to deliver the sales tax payment in cash. And they said the Department of Revenue seemed unprepared for such a large amount of money.
At one point, they said Revenue workers called the Secret Service when a question came up about the authenticity of a $20 bill. "We're there trying to be compliant, pay our taxes and they call the feds," Kunkel said. A federal agent took the bill away, and later returned to say it was legitimate.
Nicole Ross with the Department of Revenue said her agency does not share information about a particular business with the Secret Service, only about the bill in question. Ross said because of the passage of Initiative 502, and the high number of marijuana businesses that are all-cash, the department is actively reviewing procedures to make cash tax payments more efficient and discrete. Ross said the idea of counting money in a private interview room is something "we hadn't thought about, and something we could look at."
While the Department of Revenue has long accepted cash payments, officials said a $40,000 cash transaction is very unusual.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: kirotv.com
Author: Graham Johnson
Contact: Contact KIRO 7 | www.kirotv.com
Website: A medical marijuana business learned how difficult it can be... | www.kirotv.com
The owners of Have a Heart, a medical marijuana access point, found that out the hard way when they had to bring nearly $40,000 cash in a briefcase to a Washington State Department of Revenue office in Seattle. They said it took tax collectors two hours to count the cash, which was done in full view of others paying taxes in person. "We have a big pile of money in front of us. You'd think they'd bring us into a back room, a place little more private," said Have a Heart co-owner Ryan Kunkel.
Kunkel said he and his business partner Joel Berman e-filed sales taxes for their four businesses for about two years until their bank closed their account last month. Banks are federally insured and usually won't do business with known marijuana companies because pot remains illegal under federal law. Kunkel and Berman said they couldn't get an armored car company to work with them, so they had no choice but to deliver the sales tax payment in cash. And they said the Department of Revenue seemed unprepared for such a large amount of money.
At one point, they said Revenue workers called the Secret Service when a question came up about the authenticity of a $20 bill. "We're there trying to be compliant, pay our taxes and they call the feds," Kunkel said. A federal agent took the bill away, and later returned to say it was legitimate.
Nicole Ross with the Department of Revenue said her agency does not share information about a particular business with the Secret Service, only about the bill in question. Ross said because of the passage of Initiative 502, and the high number of marijuana businesses that are all-cash, the department is actively reviewing procedures to make cash tax payments more efficient and discrete. Ross said the idea of counting money in a private interview room is something "we hadn't thought about, and something we could look at."
While the Department of Revenue has long accepted cash payments, officials said a $40,000 cash transaction is very unusual.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: kirotv.com
Author: Graham Johnson
Contact: Contact KIRO 7 | www.kirotv.com
Website: A medical marijuana business learned how difficult it can be... | www.kirotv.com
