Comments on: So You Want to be An Entrepreneur?

By: feeblemind

feeblemind — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:12:39 +0000

I admire your perseverence. Taking that machete and hacking your way through that jungle of government paperwork. Re the lodging tax. You are running a campground, right? Does this mean if I pulled into your campground and slept in my own RV, tent etc, I would have to pay a friggin’ lodging tax!??

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:36:06 +0000

This makes me doubt the principle of Federalism. I understand that competition between states serves to keep regulatory burdens low, but isn’t that outweighed by added complexity associated with variations between states?

By: Brad Warbiany

Brad Warbiany — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:37:21 +0000

While selling beer or wine is undoubtedly a nice financial benefit, I’d say that of all the states that you don’t want to mess with when it comes to selling alcohol, Alabama’s probably in the top 5. They’re still very restrictive with their puritanical blue laws. It wouldn’t surprise me if — from a vendor’s perspective — they’re worse than Utah.

By: rob sama

rob sama — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:17:29 +0000

What kind of business are you opening up there?

By: nathan

nathan — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:01:05 +0000

Sorry to hear my state is so business unfriendly. In some ways AL is great and in some ways its ridiculous. An example of ridiculous being the fact that almost all local issues have to go before the entire state and require an amendment to the constitution. As of now its the longest constitution in the country with nearly 800 amendments.

Please post when the campground is up and running. I live only a short distance away in Huntsville and would love to visit.

By: Stuhlmann

Stuhlmann — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:46:55 +0000

My wife runs a small business here in Germany, with retail outlets in several different cities. I don’t think she has nearly the level of paperwork as you describe when she opens a new store somewhere. For instance, there are no separate state and county taxes. The tax structure and registration process are more centralized and standardized.

By: Noumenon

Noumenon — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:19:35 +0000

If you think of the US as analagous to a big open-trade area like the EU, you might want to compare yourself to a Portuguese business opening a business in Germany, not in Portugal.

Really good post.

By: German

German — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:22:57 +0000

I hear you – I came to the US to get out of the hassle of overbearing German laws… turns out, there are more laws and strictions here in the US now than there are at home – and while they appear very random here, laws in Germany at least still make sense. Funnily, China is much better. Go figure.

By: T J Sawyer

T J Sawyer — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:29:55 +0000

This is precisely why there are so many “tax cheats” in this country. This is what is required of someone to properly comply if you want to run your own business. So my cleaning lady does my home for cash. The guy who removed my tree last spring did so for cash. and so on, and so on,…

And I can’t ever hold a government position of any significance because I paid them is cash!

By: frankania

frankania — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:18:55 +0000

Come to Mexico. The govt. here is SO incompetent and/or corrupt, that most businesses simply have no permits, nor payroll taxes. Most workers are paid cash under the table. You can do whatever you want, if you don’t make waves.