11 yr olds cupcake "business" shut down by local government agency....

[pinksequins]

I hope you receive a knowledgable and informed response. : )

[tuco99]

29 states don't understand government.

http://cottagefoodlaws.com/get-invol...-law-movement/

[Psi U MC Vito]

Apparently you are the one who doesn't understand government. 29 states have cottage food laws, Illinois does not. One has nothing to do with the other.

[KDCat]

The Cupcake Kid will get to continue her business. A local plumbing and remodeling company, with the help of donations, is building her a kitchen to run her business.

http://www.bnd.com/2014/02/27/308131...t-her-new.html

[badgeguy]

Yay. That is a good ending.

[AGDee]

Now that this has had national attention, I hope she realizes the IRS is going to want their share of the business too...

[badgeguy]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Now that this has had national attention, I hope she realizes the IRS is going to want their share of the business too...

My guess is that this was the original impetus of the health dept stepping in, in the first place. They saw that someone hadn't paid their $$ to the govt so they stepped in.

There are I'm sure hundreds of kids and people who are doing the same thing all over the country and making sometimes a little money but once it's known to the govt they want their share of any profits.....

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

My guess is that this was the original impetus of the health dept stepping in, in the first place. They saw that someone hadn't paid their $$ to the govt so they stepped in.

There are I'm sure hundreds of kids and people who are doing the same thing all over the country and making sometimes a little money but once it's known to the govt they want their share of any profits.....

That's right. The health department stepped in because tax laws were being violated.

As for the bolded, this 11-year-old isn't running the occasional weekend lemonade stand. She is trying to run a real business. That's great, as long as she does it right—and doing it right means complying with all relevant laws and regulations, especially those designed to protect the public. Seems to me like a great lesson to learn at an early age.

[pinksequins]

No, BadgeGuy, just no. The Health Department has a different agenda than federal tax authoritieis. The local Health Department is concerned with sanitation (you know, rodents, cockroaches, running water). Tax-compliant establishments are sometimes shut -- not because of taxes -- but because the food or food surfaces will make people sick. Remember from civics also that there is yet another layer of government between local authorities and the feds -- the state (except sadly for DC).

[badgeguy]

And getting permits, which cost money...money the health dept wasn't getting before. I wasn't suggesting the Heath dept was acting on tax issues, but someone selling product, apparently even if it is just to friends and family, permits need to be purchased....they aren't free.....

[amIblue?]

Somebody get the tinfoil out....

[pinksequins]

Here you go, Blue. The commercial cupcake kitchen had an industrial-sized roll.

[pinksequins]

Permits aren't very expensive in the scheme of things. They certainly aren't major revenue producers -- they barely cover administrative fees. What the Health Department does not want are lots of quasi-sanitary facilities. (I know, one could say many facilities can still be dicey despite inspection). The cupcake stand sets a precedent for others.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

. . . apparently even if it is just to friends and family . . . .

Per the a time article to which you linked in the OP, this kid was bringing in around $200 per month. That would be $2,400 a year.

Per the St. Louis Dispatch article to which the Time article linked, her parents said they'd given the kid her own refrigerator to keep her things in, her grandparents had given her her own mixer, and the parents were willing to make sure she got all necessary licenses and permits. The kid is making trying to make money to buy a car.

None of this adds up to a kid who is just selling to friends and family. This is a kid trying to get a business going. It is certainly admirable that she wants to do that. But if she's going to do it, she needs to do it right, and that means complying with health regulations.

[badgeguy]

I guess it's a good lesson for everybody about entrepreneurship.....