Niwot Business Charges Extra Tax For Credit Card Purchases
By Donna Currie
With the new year came changes to sales tax rates in Niwot and throughout Boulder County. It was clear that several businesses were confused about the new rate, and that notices from the Department of Revenue did not reach all of the merchants. During its investigation of sales tax issues affecting Niwot, the Courier heard several people claim that one business in town, the Berry Patch on Second Avenue in downtown Niwot, was charging extra sales tax when customers made purchases with a credit card.
To find out if this was true or perhaps just a fluke in calculating a particular purchase, the Courier sent several staff members into the store to make purchases with both cash and credit.
The Courier staff members confirmed the allegations: in each instance where a credit card was used, extra sales tax was charged. In one documented case, a purchase of $20.50 was charged $1.54 in sales tax, which is 7.5 percent. The correct sales tax in downtown Niwot is 5.25 percent, so the correct amount of tax would have been $1.08.
In another case, staff members purchased identical items on the same day, but several hours apart. The store charged 5.25 percent tax to the purchaser who paid cash, and charged the credit card purchaser an extra 2.3 percent. The credit card purchaser did not receive a store receipt which would have had the sales tax listed separately; the credit card receipt showed the total amount only.
To get some background, the Courier talked to a sales tax professional in another district. He explained that if a business charges an incorrect amount of sales tax on a receipt, that amount must be remitted to the taxing authority; the business cannot make extra profit if it calculates the tax amount incorrectly.
He also pointed out another implication of this extra “tax” collected by the business. If the business does not properly remit the additional funds to the taxing authority, the extra amount would have to be claimed as income. One of the original sources indicated that the extra funds might be used to offset fees that credit card companies charge merchants, which often range from two to three percent.
Colorado law (C.R.S. 5-2-212)* seems to prohibit a seller from imposing a surcharge on a consumer who elects to pay by credit card instead of cash. Businesses may, however, offer discounts for cash purchases if the discount is offered to all customers and is clearly disclosed. In short, a business cannot charge customers more for using a credit card, but can accomplish the same result by giving a discount for cash.
The Courier contacted the owner of the Berry Patch, Teri Goetz, on Feb. 11, at her business. At that time she declined to comment, but did make an appointment to meet with Courier editors on Feb. 17. Goetz cancelled that meeting, so her comments were not available at press time.
Also, as of Feb. 17, it was reported that Goetz put up a notice in the Berry Patch stating,
“Due to the high costs of processing credit, debit &
check cards, we are switching to a “Cash Price” policy. You may use any of your
cards if you will share our costs. A 2.25% charge will be added to your ticket,
for a total tax & card fee of 7.5 Thanks for your help!
*C.R.S. 5-2-212 provides:
1) Except as otherwise provided in sections 24-19.5-103(3) and 29-11.5- 103(3), C.R.S., no seller or lessor in any sales or lease transaction or any company issuing credit or charge cards may impose a surcharge on a holder who elects to use a credit or charge card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means. A surcharge is any additional amount imposed at the time of the sales or lease transaction by the merchant, seller, or lessor that increases the charge to the buyer or lessee for the privilege of using a credit or charge card. For purposes of this section, charge card includes those cards pursuant to which unpaid balances are payable on demand.
(2) A discount offered by a seller or lessor for the purpose of inducing payment by cash, check, or other means not involving the use of a seller or lender credit card shall not constitute a finance charge if such discount is offered to all prospective buyers and its availability is disclosed to all prospective buyers clearly and conspicuously in accordance with regulations of the administrator.
Where Everybody Did Know Your Name
By LuAnn Piccard
When Mary and Dallas Plese left their careers in high technology and opened Flanagan’s in May 2000, they wanted to create a place that was an extension of them – a place where they could stay close to friends and strengthen their connection to the community.
They wanted to duplicate Mary’s childhood experience in South Denver and what they experienced in their global travels by creating a gathering place where people knew each other and shared the daily joys and challenges of life over a drink and a good meal.
In their five years as Flanagan’s owners, they have seen engagements, marriages and births. They have helped neighbors who shared backyard fences meet each other for the first time and become friends. Dallas liked to believe that there was “never a stranger at the bar, just friends waiting to be met.”
For Dallas, a self described Type-A personality, building the bar was a labor of love and his personal pride and joy. The bar was originally from the Ore House in Denver. Prior to Flanagan’s opening, it had been used as a sawhorse, painting station and shuffleboard. Dallas completely stripped and refinished it. He then added glass shelves and polished brass to make it Flanagan’s centerpiece.
Another unique feature was the library behind the bar, which covered subjects that appealed to the regulars and to which they could refer when arguing points of fact.
Flanagan’s has been host to clubs, neighborhood gatherings, school groups and people who came in to play cards, chess and cribbage or to simply relax and read a book. At the end of each Niwot High School football season, Dallas invited the team’s seniors to have dinner on the house.
Patrons especially appreciated the friendly wait-staff who remembered their favorite seats and drinks and with whom they shared important life events. Mark Haberer, a Flanagan’s’ regular, had his daughter’s bachelorette party at Flanagan’s. His son, currently stationed in Iraq, was also a regular visitor to the pub.
Flanagan’s launched many Niwot traditions. Saint Patrick’s Day was a fun-filled event complete with bagpipes and plenty of blarney. The Dec. 21 winter solstice brought people together to sing holiday carols and celebrate the season. On Jan. 25, there was a celebration of Robert Burns’ birthday, complete with haggis, neeps and poetry readings.
During Niwot Nostalgia Day, Flanagan’s held a pig roast. In 2002, all of the proceeds from the roast were donated to the New York City Fire Department. Starting in 2003, 10 percent of the proceeds from the roast were donated to our local Mountain View Fire Protection District.
Mary and Dallas formalized their own connection at Flanagan’s. After 15 years together and a 14-year engagement, they married on Sept. 11, 2004 at Folsom Field with 200 of their closest friends, many of them Flanagan’s patrons. They wanted to “take back the day” so that it would become a day of future celebration as well as reverence.
Oddly enough, on that same day, and at about the same time, the soon-to-be new owners were enjoying the sunshine on Flanagan’s patio, having made the decision to buy the place. It opened in February as the Niwot Tavern.
For the immediate future, Mary and Dallas will continue to focus on building community as volunteers and through their church. The next step in their spiritual journey includes extending their community of friends and working to give back some of what they feel blessed to have experienced to help enrich the lives of others. And, from time to time, having a drink on the other side of the bar.
Go raibh maith agat mar gheall ar gach aon ni rinneas duinn. Seo duinn, aon duine nios brea! (Gaelic) Thank you for all you have done for us. Here’s to you, none finer!
Photo courtesy of Dallas Plese
Mary and Dallas Plese at Flanagan’s.
March
Left Hand Laurel – Gregg Hangge
Youth Sports Are A
Family Affair
By Jennifer Svendsen Delaney
Gunbarrel resident and Niwot Youth Sports (NYS) devotee Gregg Hangge is the recipient this month’s Left Hand Valley Laurel. Hangge served in a variety of capacities since 1988, including basketball director, baseball president, basketball coach, baseball coach and, for as long as anyone can recall, as director of fields. He is in charge of general maintenance for the baseball and softball fields and coordinates projects related to field construction and management.
Hangge’s participation began 17 years ago as a coach when his first son, Joe, now 23, joined NYS, then known as Gunbarrel Lefthand Valley Recreation Association (GLVRA). Daughter Jill (22) and sons Jon (16) and Jake (11) soon followed Joe into the programs.
Joe and Jill remain involved in NYS, acting as referees at basketball games and umpires at baseball games as well as assisting their father in the myriad chores required to maintain the baseball fields. Joe has also become a high school umpire. Jon, a sophomore at Niwot High, continues to help with the fields, while Jake is a player and works on field maintenance with his dad and brothers.
Hangge and his family moved to Gunbarrel from St. Louis in 1988 when he accepted a job with Ball Aerospace. Currently, he is employed as a manager, overseeing the negotiation and implementation of contracts.
A short time after Hangge had been in Gunbarrel, former Basketball Director Dennis Roth recruited him to help with the administration of NYS basketball. Within a few years, Hangge had taken over Roth’s position as director of the entire basketball program. As soon as basketball ended, Hangge was working on the baseball and softball fields.
“I didn’t grow up knowing how to put up chain link fences or set up irrigation systems, but when no one stepped forward to do it, I learned how,” Hangge said. When funds were short, he recruited volunteers to help him get facilities built. He is primarily responsible for building the backstops, batting cages and dugouts at Monarch Park and the Warren Complex.
When asked how he does it all, he replied, “There are a lot of hours in a day!” Evidently, he knows how to use them well.
Former NYS Baseball Director Biff Warren remarked, “Gregg would ask volunteers to show up at 9 a.m. for a work project, and when everyone else showed up at 8:55, we found Gregg had been there working since 7 a.m.”
When asked about the benefits of a youth sports program, Hangge was quick to state that the best part is the bond that the program creates between parents and their children. He said that there are all sorts of reasons why people want their children to play sports, but the key is for the kids to enjoy it.
“Parents can be intimidated by involvement, but the kids appreciate it when their parents are there helping out. Parents need to jump in and learn,” he said.
Hangge’s wife of 25 years, Karen, is the perfect example of jumping in. She joins the kids in driving the tractor around the field whenever necessary. During the week, she is a teacher in Niwot Elementary School’s pre-school program. “Without her, we couldn’t get it all done,” Hangge said.
He credits people like Mark Lamach and other long time NYS participants for their devotion to the program, even after their children are gone. Lamach, in nominating Hangge for the Left Hand Laurel, described him as “the jack of all trades,” Lamach’s list of all that Hangge has done for the Niwot Youth Sports program even includes cooking spaghetti with Lamach whenever NYS has a fundraising dinner.
The next time you drive by any NYS field and see someone working, chances are it’s Hangge. Don’t forget to tell him “thanks.”
Photo by Jennifer Svendsen Delaney
Gregg Hangge
Abstinence-Only Health Programs In The Spotlight
By Mandy Sutyak
With federal funding for abstinence-only programs approaching a record level of $170 million for the 2005 fiscal year, the increasingly hot debate over the effectiveness of such programs is no surprise.
In December, Representative Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) released a report finding that 80 percent of the abstinence-only curricula, used by over two-thirds of grantees of Special Programs of Regional and National Significance Community-Based Abstinence Education (SPRANS) in 2003, contain false, misleading or distorted information about reproductive health.
According to the report, the misinformation includes giving false information about the effectiveness of contraceptives and the risks of abortion, blurring religion with science, treating stereotypes about girls and boys as scientific fact, and scientific errors. St. Vrain Valley School District’s (SVVSD) health education program has adopted the Directive Abstinence Centered Approach. The goal is that school age students will abstain from sexual activity and illegal drug use. The approach focuses on helping students make the best and healthiest choice.
The district’s IHAM/ IHAMB policy states, “It includes giving contraceptive information by emphasizing sexual activity as risk taking behavior. Contraceptive information given shall include failure rate of the various methods and risks including sexually transmitted diseases, sterility, birth defects and death. ‘Safe sex’ message will be given and there will be no demonstrations on the use of contraceptives.”
The SVVSD Board of Education is looking at this policy as part of its normal review process. Board President Sandi Searls said, “There are preliminary discussions about forming a task force to review the entire policy, but the board has not made a specific commitment to this.”
SVVSD has used the Life Choices Pregnancy Center to support delivery of the abstinence-only program since 1992. Life Choices receives no funding from the school district, but does receive funding from Friends First, a non-profit, non-sectarian organization. Friends First is a SPRANS grantee and promotes the WAIT Training, one of the programs studied and criticized in Waxman’s report.
Life Choices has developed its own program, which is similar to the WAIT Training. Jor-El Godsey, executive director of Life Choices, stressed that its material is reviewed for accuracy on a regular basis, at least annually, or more frequently if necessary. Godsey said, “Abstinence remains the healthiest choice, not just for pregnancy avoidance. We don’t tell our kids to use less drugs or smoke fewer cigarettes.”
Materials used by Life Choices are available on request. Call 303-651-2050 or see www.lifechoices.org. Waxman’s Report is available at www.house.gov/waxman. Friends First’s response to Waxman’s report is posted at www.friendsfirst.org.
There are resources available for parents wishing to supplement the school curriculum with a more comprehensive approach. Two such organizations are Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and Boulder Valley Women’s Health Clinic.
Planned Parenthood has offices in Longmont (call 303-772-3600) and Boulder (call 303-447-1040) or see www.plannedparenthood.org. Boulder Valley Women’s Health Clinic is located in Boulder. Call 303-440-9320 or see www.teenclinic.org.
Out and About in Niwot
By Ron Goodman
It’s Up. It’s Down. It’s Up Again
It’s not the Dow Jones and it’s not the tide. It’s the sales tax rate in Niwot. While the sales tax rate is fixed by state and local law, what changes is the tax rate you are charged as you walk into stores along Second Avenue and in the Cottonwood Square Shopping Center.
Several years ago the Courier did a story about the sales tax collections in Niwot, which led the county to review and keep a closer watch on the sales tax payments it receives from the state. The article also showed that there was a discrepancy in the sales tax percentage charged by several stores in town.
In 1991-1992 a local improvement district was formed in Niwot to pay for improvements in the public right-of-way. New sidewalks, drainage, paving and street lighting were installed on the two blocks of Second Avenue.
For tax purposes, the district includes all of the properties facing Second Avenue as well as the Cottonwood Shopping Center. The tax in this district is one-half percent which is added to the basic countywide sales tax rate.
In January 2005, a voter-approved transportation bond added an additional one-half percent to the basic county sales tax rate. We went Out and About again, asking merchants if they were aware of the new sales tax rate. The results were mixed: I began by waving Craig Harris down in his truck. He was on a delivery run for Lefty’s Pizza. He said, “(It’s) 5.25 percent. It changed in January.” Then he added, “Send someone, I want to advertise,” and he drove off.
The receptionist at Dapper Dog Day Spa had the right answer too, 5.25 percent. “But that is only on products, not labor.” The owners learned about the new rate at the last Niwot Business Association meeting. They did not receive an official notification from the state.
Abo’s Pizza, on the other hand, was notified by mail of the change in sales tax, but Tom Smathers had a question about the extent of the work in the improvement district.
Improvements were limited to Second Avenue but the taxing district includes Cottonwood Shopping Center.
Liz Martin of Babycakes said that she “must have misread the notice. I thought the rate was still 4.75 percent, and I have been charging that amount all month.”
A clerk at Niwot Liquor thought the new rate was 5 percent. They have to change the amount in their computer.
Ed McGill of Canvasback Gallery sighed, “I haven’t been charging enough - never got a notice.”
On the other hand, Suzan Ryan in the new quilt shop on Franklin Street and Tim Wise of Wise Buys Antiques had it right at 5.25 percent.
In a split decision, clerks at Nina’s of Niwot had it right, but Elysian Fields Antiques, which shares space with Nina’s, thought it was 4.85 percent.
The current sales tax rate in downtown Niwot and Cottonwood Square is 5.25 percent, just in case you missed it.
How Much Is That Sales Tax?
By Mandy Sutyak
As of January 1, 2005, sales tax rates around the state changed. How much you pay depends on where you shop. Like many other states, Colorado’s system of sales tax consists of taxes at multiple layers: the state, the county, the city and special taxing districts. It can get very confusing for consumers and merchants alike.
The state sales tax is 2.9 percent. Boulder County sales tax is now .65 percent, while the Regional Transportation District collects 1.0 percent. Other special taxing districts are the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCRD) and the Metropolitan Football Stadium District (MFSD), at 0.1 percent each. The RTD tax generates revenue for the construction and operation of the mass transit system.
Over $30 million a year from the SCRD tax is used as a consistent source of unrestricted funding for scientific and cultural organizations such as the Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Science and Nature and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts that enlighten and entertain the public. The MFSD tax raises revenue to pay back the bonds used to finance construction of Invesco Field at Mile High stadium.
These sales taxes, which total 4.75 percent, apply throughout Boulder County. Residents have seen a 0.5 percent rate increase over last year, as a result of ballot issues approved in the November election. For Boulder County, the increase consists of 0.4 percent approved by RTD voters to fund Fastracks, and 0.1 percent approved by Boulder County voters to fund open space purchases.
If looking at sales rates helps you determine where you shop, local Niwot merchants are a good choice. The new rate in most of Niwot is 5.25 percent, compared to Boulder and Gunbarrel’s 8.16 percent and Longmont’s 7.70 percent rates. Boulder adds a city sales tax of 3.41 percent while Longmont adds 2.95 percent.
Old Town Niwot and Cottonwood Square Shopping Center are part of a Local Improvement District and as such, the total sales tax in these areas includes a 0.5 percent sales and use tax, bringing the total in these areas to 5.25 percent. Revenue from this additional tax goes to repay county bonds which financed street lighting and drainage improvements.
One other note: If you’re in the City of Boulder and buying food and/or alcohol for immediate consumption, there is an additional 0.15 percent sales and use tax, bringing the total to 8.31 percent.
Niwot (not Local Improvement Dist.) State 2.90% |
Gunbarrel (City of Boulder)
|
Longmont
|
|---|---|---|
There’s Still Time…
By Mandy Sutyak
If you owe tax this year it’s likely that you intentionally haven’t filed your return yet, and whether you owe or not, many people simply procrastinate and delay. Regardless, anxiety levels increase the closer April 15 gets. So here, to ease your stress, are some valuable reminders:
- If you haven’t maxed out your IRA yet, take action now. You can contribute up to $3,000 – or $3,500 if you’re 50 or older – to either a traditional or Roth IRA for 2004. Contributions must be made on or before April 15, 2005. This applies whether or not you’re filing for an extension.
- If you think you need a tax preparer or CPA for 2004, call now. Many will not take new clients late in the tax season.
- Parents, make sure you don’t incorrectly claim a child/student as a dependent when the child is either too old and/or has too much earned income. In this case, make sure the student claims him/herself.
- Donations to qualified tsunami relief fund organizations made before Jan. 31, 2005 are deductible on your 2004 tax return – just be sure not to deduct them again on your 2005 return.
- New for 2004 – you may deduct the sales tax paid, as an itemized deduction, in lieu of state income tax paid during 2004. The IRS will release tables for amounts deductible for sales tax for each state. You should compare the two amounts and use the larger for the deduction.
- Filing for an extension does NOT extend the time for paying taxes. You must pay the remainder of all tax due for 2004 on or before April 15, 2004 to avoid late payment penalties. This rule applies for Colorado tax as well, but Colorado will accept the Federal extension form provided you owe no tax with your Colorado extension.
- For charitable contributions, you cannot deduct the value of your time spent volunteering for non-profit organizations. However, you can deduct mileage for trips to and from the charity for meetings and volunteer work. The charitable mileage rate is 14 cents per mile in 2004.
- If you paid for education expenses in 2004 for yourself or a dependent, there is likely a deduction or tax credit available for you. Be sure to discuss this with your tax preparer or if you prepare your own return, compare the various options to determine the most advantageous one.
- Sometimes married couples can save tax by filing as married filing separate instead of filing jointly. It’s always a good idea to run the return both ways to see which results in lower tax.
- If you donated money to a Colorado daycare center, you may qualify for an additional valuable Colorado credit. Check with the daycare center to see if this applies.
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) snares more taxpayers each year. Your chances of being subject to AMT increase dramatically if your Adjusted Gross Income is more than $75,000, you’re married, you have dependent children and you live in a high tax state. Even if you think it doesn’t apply to you, it’s a good idea to calculate your AMT to be sure. But calculating AMT involves a whole different set of rules. A good place to start is H&R Block’s calculator at www.hrblock.com/taxes/tools/amt/index.html.
These last few reminders may appear very basic but a discussion among the Courier staff showed that they’ve all been learned the hard way:
- Do sign your returns and keep a copy of the signed returns.
- Do put the federal return and check in the federal envelope and the state return and check in the state envelope.
- Do weigh your return to ensure the correct postage; sending by certified mail is also a good idea. If nothing else, do keep your postal receipt as proof of mailing.
- Do put the
tax form number
- Do sign your check
- Do make your federal check payable to “US Treasury.”
- If you are preparing your return electronically, do back up your work frequently to both your hard drive and a removable disk and do print your work.
Many of these reminders were contributed by the firm of Kingsberry*Baris*Vogel*Nuttall, CPAs and Advisors, located at 2005 Broadway, Boulder, 303-444-2240. See also www.kingsberycpas.com.
Yesterday’s
News
Old Engine #10
By Anne Dyni
It’s a service we all take for granted today – the local fire department. But until the late 1960s, Niwot’s fire protection came from Longmont, which had only one truck and two men assigned to rural fire calls.
All that changed when the Left Hand Men’s Club called a special meeting in April 1968 to discuss formation of Niwot’s own volunteer fire department. Almost all of the 25 men in attendance signed on that day to become volunteer firemen.
Only Mike Holubec and Pete Plantiga had previous experience, so they were chosen to set up a training program. “We had training sessions at the Left Hand Water office,” Holubec recalled, “where we taught some of the fundamentals of fire fighting.”
When they reached the limit of their expertise, they collaborated with the St. Vrain School District’s Outdoor Education program to bring instructors in once a month from the Denver Fire Department.
The first order of business for the new fire department was construction of a firehouse. By 1969, a finance campaign was in full swing, and a 99-year lease was signed with the Left Hand Grange to build the facility on its property. Dedication was held during the first Niwot Nostalgia Days celebration in 1969.
The first fire truck to be housed in the new facility was Old Engine #10, which was reassigned from the Longmont Fire District. The old Chevy was one of four fire engines purchased by the county in 1946 and originally assigned to Mead, then Longmont where it was used to cover rural fires.
Because Red Southern worked second shift at the new IBM plant in 1968, he became the fire department’s first day captain. “When you go out on a call, you’ve gotta have someone in charge,” Southern explained.
“We may have had 15 to 20 volunteers, but during the day they were all working. Sometimes you were the only one on the truck because nobody else would show up,” he said.
Women from the fire department auxiliary were often pressed into service for daytime fire calls. “When I was day captain of the crew,” Dick Hicks recalled, “we were having problems with train fires. We suspected the train crew was settin’ them just to see the fire department run, because my crew was six women.”
The crew got its revenge, however, on the day the train stopped and backed up to the Niwot crossing. According to Hicks, the engineer leaned out of the cab and made a smart remark to the volunteer working the fire hose. “The gal on the nozzle just lifted it up,” he laughed, “and shot him right out of his seat.”
The most memorable fire covered by the Niwot volunteers occurred on Jan. 7, 1969. The department was called in to assist Boulder with a stubborn grass fire near 75th and Arapahoe.
High winds had forced an airplane down at that location, and two fires had been ignited. Southern remembered the event clearly. “There for a while the winds were holdin‘ steady at 160 miles an hour with gusts to 180. A lot of the farmers lost cattle from the corrugated steel blowin’ off and cutting’ cattle up.”
“You could look out and see blue flashes all over out there,” Hicks added. “That was the power lines goin’ down.”
When the new Mountain View Fire Station was built at Longview and Niwot Road in 1982, Old Engine #10 stayed behind in the original firehouse. It had been four years since its last fire call. In 1997, the engine was re-dedicated to the Niwot community and is now primarily displayed in parades.
“It’s capable of fighting fires if need be,” Southern explained, “even though it has a very limited supply of water.”
Photo by Mary Wolbach Lopert
Red Southern stands beside Engine #10, which he helped to refurbish about six years ago. After stripping it down to bare metal, volunteers patched the body and restored it to its original beauty. Although the front-end pump remains, the platform and the larger of two water tanks have been removed.