posted on October 14, 2011 10:55:56 AM new
No seller of used items can sell for cash in Louisiana. What next?
http://ackelandassociates.com/cash-transactions-banned-by-louisiana/
posted on October 15, 2011 10:21:11 PM new
Lol, just the type of rumor to get everyone's attention.
Sounds like one of those urban legend hoaxes that will be getting snopes hits for years to come.
Certainly made me go searching for some facts. Funny thing was I could not find 1 legitimate news link on the story so stand down or write your local state rep for more info.
Even Huey Long could not have gotten legislation such as that past.
posted on October 16, 2011 05:12:39 AM new
Go to this site and search house bill 195 http://www.legis.state.la.us/
The writer of the statement wide spread on the web took parts of the legislation to write his or her article.
The actual bill applies to salvage / junk yards, pawn shops and similar businesses.
I guess the writer of the piece making the rounds of the world wide web of mis-information could be streached out to Mr & Mrs Smith selling their widget collection on eBay, it is a long leap.
posted on October 16, 2011 05:11:50 PM new
wouldn't pawn shops and similar businesses be brick and mortar stores and flea markets?
Maybe this is just another part of the Hope and Change. When you can't buy what you want in the USA with cash then it will no longer be the USA.
[ edited by toolhound on Oct 16, 2011 05:16 PM ]
posted on October 16, 2011 09:51:36 PM new
Your subject title would have been more accurate to state "no cash purchases by dealers...".
As I read it, there will be no cash transactions by a dealer when making purchases of second-hand goods for amounts over $25. Makes sense to any honest business person who keeps proper business records and is not trying to hide any unlawful activity.
It does not restrict the dealer's ability to make non-cash sales to regular customers.
As second-hand business owner, the onus has always been on you to be able to prove the merchandise or goods you hold in inventory were acquired legally. Any hardship caused by having to pay for your inventory with a trackable means is offset by the ability of law enforcement to catch the real criminals.
In essence, the revised law just makes it harder for thieves to convert their ill-gotten goods to cash.
As a previous store owner, I have been in the situation of having to prove that used merchandise in my possession was obtained legally. As a business owner, such a law would protect me against prosecution so I really would not have a problem with this legislation.
Yes, I understand that it would make it hard to work a cash deal at an estate sale when aquiring inventory but it would not affect my sales.
posted on October 17, 2011 01:04:05 PM new
"Yes, I understand that it would make it hard to work a cash deal at an estate sale when aquiring inventory but it would not affect my sales. "
You must be kidding right???????????
"As a previous store owner, I have been in the situation of having to prove that used merchandise in my possession was obtained legally. As a business owner, such a law would protect me against prosecution so I really would not have a problem with this legislation."
If you really owned a store ever you would know that most sales are cash unless you ran a used Rolls Royce store.
posted on October 17, 2011 08:13:44 PM new
I think one of us does not understand the law as it was written.
As I said, I understood it to say that a dealer in second hand goods could not make cash PURCHASES over $25. The law does not address the s-h-g dealer's Sales. They can still make cash sales to their customers.
If the dealer is selling to another dealer, then yes, the transaction would have to be conducted by check or money order but since the buying dealer would want tax exemption on their purchase, there would be a record of the transaction anyway because the purchaing dealer would have to sign a tax exemption form for the selling dealer.
This new/revised law in Louisianna is really not a big change in the way second hand businesses are supposed to already being doing busness.
The law addresses the dealer's purchases, ie; inventory, raw materials, etc which are now required to be made with a trackable means such as check or money order.
This law is meant to help law enforcement track the flow of illgally obtained materials.
For instance, here in Florida if you run a scrap yard, junk store, antique store or pawn shop and you have people walk in the door wanting to sell you goods that they supposedly own, the onus is on the dealer to verify the identity of the one wanting to sell the goods, record the license of vehicle they were driving, and question whether the goods were legally obtained.
If law enforcement visits your business and finds you holding stolen goods and you do not have this documentation on file, you could go to jail for accepting stolen goods.
Fortunately in the instance I referred to earlier, the items in my store that were in question were consignment merchandise and I had a consignment contract. The police were able to verify with the consignor that the items were their legal property to dispose of.
I had already sold one piece on layaway and the police kept the complete consignment tied up for over a month until they verified ownership and completed their investigation.
Another antiques dealer in town was not so fortunate. They were found to have stolen merchandise and could not document a chain of ownership. Not only was their business under survellience for a long period of time, but the police confiscated the merchandise with no compensation to the dealer. By not documenting his purchases, the dealer lost his money and his merchandise. The State Sales tax people also came in an audited his books.
Not the kind of attention a business owner wants or has time for.
posted on October 17, 2011 08:31:09 PM new
"If you really owned a store ever you would know that most sales are cash unless you ran a used Rolls Royce store."
Many of my SALES were in cash but most larger sales were by check. Few people carry large amounts of cash and I dealt in a lot of furniture.
However, most of my inventory PURCHASES were not cash. I paid by business check when I purchased an estate, made auction purchases or bought from other dealers. I only paid by cash when I made yard sale purchases or walk-in transactions under $100.
