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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Truck crash closes northbound I-5 near Siskiyou summit 10 things to know for Friday 10 things to know for Thursday Ashland Rowing Club hires highly touted coach and national-award winning team director to lead expansion Police Reports Education Why OLLI matters: A personal perspective Southern Oregon University names director of marketing Dianne Williamson: College admissions mania ill-advised Rotary Club of Ashland names Riley O'Sullivan as Student of the Month Teacher's Tips: Who gets to teach history? Environment Mt. Ashland Ski Area to host party March 28 Mt. Ashland hopes coming storm will reopen ski area Wild Side: Selfish and other reasons for saving endangered species Mt. 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Cyr: The legacy of Singapore’s leader Lee Kwan Yew The rest of the story Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Top 5 things to do this week Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick pay tribute to Arkansas bluegrass duo Vern Williams and Ray Park The Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical 'Long Day's Journey into Night' Community blog: Words, wine and Craig Wright 4 Things To Do This Week Theater Ticket Availability Ashland Contemporary Theatre seeks new artistic director Ticket Availability The Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical 'Long Day's Journey into Night' Ticket Availability Music Futureshock: Kendrick Lamar release points to road ahead Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick pay tribute to Arkansas bluegrass duo Vern Williams and Ray Park Album reviews: Recent and recommended for March The Farr Side: New format for ‘American Idol’ as show continues a strong run Improv rock and folk band hosts a dance party at the Ashland Community Center Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies Movie review: In ‘Danny Collins,’ Pacino helps us imagine a Lennon story Noah Baumbach talks Ben Stiller, adult comedies and more In 'Timbuktu,' lust for power disturbs peace Movie review: ‘The Gunman’ misses the target Movie listings: March 20-26 Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Ride & Drive: 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque App Finder: Best barbecue apps Health Watch: It’s OK to have a cheat day Inner Peace: The good, the bad and the spiritual Antionette Kerr: Tourney fever gets superstitious Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Truck crash closes northbound I-5 near Siskiyou summit ... Jeffrey Gillespie: Pax Americana? At what price? ... Ashland Calendar: Friday, March 27 ... Truck crash closes northbound I-5 near Siskiyou summit ... Jeffrey Gillespie: Pax Americana? At what price? ... Ashland Calendar: Friday, March 27 ... MEETING TUESDAY NIGHT City says market vendors subject to food tax Council to discuss growers' request for enforcement delay until they can make a fresh start in 2015 Comment By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 29, 2014 at 4:49 PM By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 29, 2014 at 4:49 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Oregon Trail Card users can shop at farmers markets • Downtown growers market can sell prepared food • Vigorous opposition unable to stop renewal of Ashland meals tax... • Meals tax debated • Opinions mixed on meals tax » Social News For decades, vendors at the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market have operated under the market’s business license, haven't paid Ashland’s 5 percent food and beverage tax on prepared food and drink and didn’t think they had to. But now, the city says they have to pay, including some back taxes. City officials are poised to proceed with collection of taxes from nine market vendors identified as subject to the tax for a period extending back to Sept. 5, the date of a letter from the city notifying two of the vendors they should be paying the 5 percent tax. The market and vendors have not paid and are asking the city to wait on enforcement of the new arrangement until the market, which closed for the season after its Nov. 25 market, reopens in March 2015, giving vendors a chance to start keeping records and charging customers for the tax. The City Council will consider the matter Tuesday evening. Market board members plan to be there and are encouraging vendors to come and testify. The city received a complaint in August about non-payment of the tax, according to city Administrator Dave Kanner , so it sent “secret shoppers” on two occasions to document that vendors were not charging the tax. Two of the vendors were identified either through an address on a receipt or business card. The city later checked its records and found no record of payment of food and beverage tax from those two businesses — Rosa & Maria Mexican Restaurant of Grants Pass and Sultan's Delight of Talent — and sent letters to the two asking them to "pay your tax obligation." “We were unaware of it (liability for the tax) because we were under the business license of the Growers Market,” said June Altunel, co-owner of Sultan’s Delight, a mobile kitchen for Eastern food. Five percent of her sales would be around $15 a day, she said, although they have no records of the period.  “Some days, when it’s raining, we barely make it. The tax is a hardship,” she said. “We didn’t charge that tax, ever. We didn’t charge their little secret shoppers. We’ll just have to raise our prices.”  Other vendors identified as subject to the tax include Daddy's Donuts and Griffin Creek Coffee Roasters. Marcella Bell, general manager of the market, says she and vendors accept the tax is inevitable, but feel it’s fair only to start afresh on the new season when everyone understands the rules and customers can be charged for it.  “We didn’t realize we were liable and none have collected it,” Bell says. “We’re asking that it start in 2015 when we know all the details and can keep track. None of us feel it’s fair.” Senior Market Manager Mary Ellen De Luca said, “It works by charging the customer. The vendor isn’t holding that money now. They only work here five hours a week. Most aren’t bricks-and-mortar stores. It only makes sense to inform people and begin fresh.” The market was started by area growers in 1987 and is mutual benefit corporation under state law, says De Luca. Oregon considers such organizations to be nonprofits, according to the Attorney General’s website. The market, says De Luca, was not set up for profit and only pays expenses and salaries. It has planned to file for 501(c)(3) status with the federal government, she adds, but hasn’t gotten around to it. However, says Kanner, the food and beverage tax is being applied to vendors, not the market — and the city ordinance makes no reference to who holds the business license. “That’s irrelevant,” he said. During an exchange of letters this fall, the city asked for a list of vendors who sold prepared food at the market this year, but the market only recently provided the list, while also asking the city for deferral of the tax to next year, said Kanner in a memo to the council. At a Nov. 3 study session, the council seemed equally divided on the two choices, he said. Kanner’s memo listed arguments for each path. In favor of immediate enforcement, it said: • Postponement might seem to be playing favorites because it would be enforcing the tax on fixed-location operators but not on those at the market. • Shows city enforces its laws. • Businesses are responsible for knowing the law, without having to be notified. • Lack of awareness does not excuse non-compliance. •  Vendors acknowledged they are subject to the tax when it was enacted in 1993, sending the city a list of four vendors (including Four & Twenty Blackbirds and Blue Bunny bakeries) it felt fell under the ordinance and promising to update the city when new vendors who fall under the ordinance join the market. •  Lack of enforcement perpetuates “corrosive notion” that citizens only have to comply with laws when it’s brought to their attention. In support of postponement of the tax, Kanner said: • Vendors likely didn’t keep records at the market, so it will be hard to determine what they owe. In any case, it’s a “minimal amount” of money. • If vendors didn’t know they owed the tax, back payment would be “punitive rather than corrective.” • Only two of nine vendors got notice of non-compliance so it’s “not fair” to seek compliance from only two. • The vendors may not be able to pay because they weren’t aware of their liability. • The city hasn’t enforced the tax with market vendors, so the city “bears some culpability” in the situation. • Citizens may view the city as “cold-hearted and intransigent.” Kanner told the council that, unless it rules otherwise, staff will enforce the tax with vendors starting from Sept. 5. Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market also operates a Saturday market from May through October on Oak Street, but that market operates under a separate permit that does not allow for sale of prepared food or beverages, so the tax issue does not apply there. Proceeds from the food and beverage tax are split between the city parks account (20 percent) and for wastewater capital improvement projects (80 percent). The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the Council Chambers at 1175 E. Main Street. The food and beverage tax item is towards the end of the agenda .  Reach Ashland freelance writer John Darling at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 29, 2014 at 4:49 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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