Having a business entity only opens the doors to those problems if and only if you do things like "money laundering, and making false statements to the government and the like"
If you do any of those things as a sole proprietor it won't lessen your legal liability. Quite frankly the IRS doesn't care how you make your money, they just care about you reporting it accurately and paying taxes. Yes, you can operate in the shadows for literally decades without paying a dime in taxes, but you can never become a mainstream citizen, save for retirement, buy a house etc etc, without the fear that Uncle Sam will simply take it all away some day if you don't create some kind of way to legitimize yourself. Creating a "flow through" business entity like an LLC or even filing a DBA at the county level costs next to nothing to set up, and it's something I think all small businesses, not just hookers, should do if they care about the future.
Hey there! It's my pleasure to have found this opportunity to ask some questions that I have! I have been searching for ways to learn more to no avail. They are of delicate nature. I can think of very few that would find my ideas appropriate let alone have any educated answers for me.
I'm living a dream come true! Just 1 year ago, I would NEVER believe that I would be a provider! Nor would I ever consider even video chatting let alone Webcam Modeling! On top of all of that.... I NEVER EVER EVER thought that I would find the courage to follow my passion and grow to be an Entrepreneur.
I began providing May 2020 but I didn't even realize that I was a Provider until my third client solicited me in September. He approached me in such a blunt, literal manner with such a generous offer. It was in that moment that I realized, "I can make a living like this"!
So I'm completely green in every way with absolutely no one to advise me. Key word, Advise. Let me stress that I am completely independent and have absolutely no need for assistance at all. I simply need consultants.
Burning Questions:
Can I create a real legitimate business for myself?
If so, how do I go about doing that?
Would I benefit more as a small business as opposed to under the table aka unreported income?
Thank you for your time Everyone!
While you would benefit from finding a way to report the income and pay taxed -- in the sense that you can then take that money and invest it without raising any questions about the source -- I think you might want to stay away from setting up a formal business entity. That might open the door to some rather nasty legal problems like money laundering, false statements to governments, and the like.
Thank you so much
Having a business entity only opens the doors to those problems if and only if you do things like "money laundering, and making false statements to the government and the like"
If you do any of those things as a sole proprietor it won't lessen your legal liability. Quite frankly the IRS doesn't care how you make your money, they just care about you reporting it accurately and paying taxes. Yes, you can operate in the shadows for literally decades without paying a dime in taxes, but you can never become a mainstream citizen, save for retirement, buy a house etc etc, without the fear that Uncle Sam will simply take it all away some day if you don't create some kind of way to legitimize yourself.
Creating a "flow through" business entity like an LLC or even filing a DBA at the county level costs next to nothing to set up, and it's something I think all small businesses, not just hookers, should do if they care about the future.
It's not the IRS that would be the problem if for any reason the government decided to go after you for setting up a business to move money from a criminal activity into the legitimate world to make it clean. Moreover, I cannot think of any local or state business licensing/registration that doesn't note that the owner is not engaging in some illegal activities. When filling for your business license you have to specify a purpose. The one my lawyer used was "Any legal activity." Clearly she will not be approved if she were to say "Sale of sex acts." But if she puts something else down that is fraud and would also fall broadly under the money laundering definition.
Given there is not legal requirement to actually be a business in order to have an income derived from something other than wages some employer pays it might not be worth forming a legal business. I suspect it also will matter what form of legal business you form as far as the type of risks you expose yourself too.
That why I said check with someone on the legal board. One might think someone there might even have some suggestion for actual lawyers that can provide real legal advice.
and an actual "business license" is not a requirement for legitimizing your income, which is a far cry from money laundering. Which is just one of the reasons I mentioned it's obvious that you are NOT a person in business for yourself. Please don't take offense, there are a LOT of subjects where you are more than qualified to give advice, this is just not one of them and I can't let bad advice on a topic this important go unchallenged the same way as I have had to correct a LOT of posts on the Legal Board over the years.
I think the problem here is that you are overstating what needs to be filed in order to be a "business" In order to open a bank account all you need to do is file a DBA (Doing Business As" with the county which usually costs no more than a one time charge of about $20-30.
Your "suspicions" aside, this is an area where you are making a LOT more out of this than you need to. For the record, I have formed dozens of companies and I am more than qualified to not only refute your bad advice, but set her well on her way to doing things the proper way.
This is hardly the first time this subject has come up, and the people opining on the Legal Board are by and large the very same people you will find on this board. Some of us know what we are talking about, others do not, just like every other topic that comes up on the internet. My advice to you is leave the business advice to the businessmen/women and leave the legal advice to the lawyers. Some advice does a lot more harm than good, even if well intentioned. BTW my former co-moderator on this board was an expert on this subject and helped a LOT of providers down this road.
GaG the point was there are a number of businesses that someone might form (LLC was mentioned which make zero sense to me as if you get to the point you need the liability protecting it is very likely the nature of the income source comes out and the liability is not gone). Depending on where she is she might not need to even bother with a DBA or a separate bank account -- she just needs good accounting to separate the business spend from the personal spend. It's not like any of the authorities the person and the business from a tax or income perspective for what she will do.
So rather than saying I'm making forming the business more complicated than it needs to be I was saying keep it very simple because the farther you go down the path of a formal structure the more you're opening your self up to worse charges than just prostitution. Now, am I saying to expect that? NO. Just that the more it looks like you're trying to hide things the more likely someone might decide to make you pay by throwing the book if for any reason you've pissed them off -- or you just showed up at the wrong time (perhaps a close election or the day after the wife/husband ran off with a younger, better looking person and took the do as well).
but suffice it to say, you are WRONG.
I don't have the hours it will take to explain to you just how wrong you are, but this is obviously NOT your area of expertise. OTOH, it is part of what I do every day and not to toot my own horn, but people actually pay me for advice on such matters. So PLEASE just stop, you are letting your imagination run away from you and you risk someone new taking your poorly conceived advice and running with it much to their detriment.
Please don't think I am simply trying to talk down to you, but giving advice on business and legal matters without having a foundation of knowledge other than what you "suppose" is just as irresponsible as giving medical advice without ever having gone to medical school. You don't really "know" any of this, you are simply taking your best guess while I am speaking from decades of experience.
...But you don’t know what you’re talking about with respect to a sole proprietor pass-through entity and possible legal liability in this industry and accounting issues.
From a financial point of view, I think it’s a highly advantageous thing to do in addition to filing as a business entity. It doesn’t prevent you from getting into legal issues but certainly it won’t be because of the entity structure. An advantage is that Personal and work assets and liabilities can be kept separately. The lady should connect with a few Providers she is friendly with to get some specific ideas that work for them but if I were a pimp I would certainly have ideas what to do.
And btw just saying an accountant is going to take care of everything is a recipe for disaster.
I'm no expert. But Qs like yours have come up on TER before.
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I agree with Jensen about declaring income and paying taxes. The government now tracks the movement of large amounts of cash ($10,000 and above) and some institutions even flag and voluntarily report suspicious activity at lower thresholds ($5,000). Let's suppose you accumulate a big bag of undeclared cash money and you want to make any major purchase: car, house, condo. That paperwork may trigger an investigation into how someone with zero or poverty level income suddenly came up with 100 grand in cash. Now the gov comes in and wants to collect past taxes and penalties on that $100k of mystery money.
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In order to have a way to properly report income, Providers have mentioned a few ways that they do that. A common recommendation is to find a Provider-friendly accountant who can help with legal compliance and setting up accounts and making timely payments of what is required (Social Security, quarterly withholding, etc.). Depending on your location, there may be Providers in your area with recommendations.
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Some Providers have mentioned that they do have businesses to help them with compliance. I don't remember all of the categories, but "consulting" could be one. I think one Provider said she has a "party planning" business. (Hmm ... that would normally entail some costs, I think: advertising, catering bills, hall rentals, ... balloons other than long, slender "balloons" with a reservoir tip. Well, I think she had it worked out.)
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Hopefully, you'll get some more As and some better ideas. But it can be done.
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And, as Jensen said, check out Legal, too.
Hey there! It's my pleasure to have found this opportunity to ask some questions that I have! I have been searching for ways to learn more to no avail. They are of delicate nature. I can think of very few that would find my ideas appropriate let alone have any educated answers for me.
I'm living a dream come true! Just 1 year ago, I would NEVER believe that I would be a provider! Nor would I ever consider even video chatting let alone Webcam Modeling! On top of all of that.... I NEVER EVER EVER thought that I would find the courage to follow my passion and grow to be an Entrepreneur.
I began providing May 2020 but I didn't even realize that I was a Provider until my third client solicited me in September. He approached me in such a blunt, literal manner with such a generous offer. It was in that moment that I realized, "I can make a living like this"!
So I'm completely green in every way with absolutely no one to advise me. Key word, Advise. Let me stress that I am completely independent and have absolutely no need for assistance at all. I simply need consultants.
Burning Questions:
Can I create a real legitimate business for myself?
If so, how do I go about doing that?
Would I benefit more as a small business as opposed to under the table aka unreported income?
Thank you for your time Everyone!
It was posted on the Legal board a few years ago. They're also on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/companiontax?lang=en
I don't know anything about them, just giving you the link.
Dewey, Cheetum, and Howe. 😀
Happy Holidays.
Sess, Poole, and Drain?
Neal Down and Jack Mioff?
Dewey, Cheetum, and Howe. 😀
Happy Holidays.
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EDIT: changed image link.
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BigPapasan, Perfectstorm, and Impposter? (Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.)
-- Modified on 12/31/2020 12:57:23 AM
Then my advice for the OP is to open a business as a poultry farmer.
If the government ever comes around snooping, you can just tell them that you raised hundreds of peckers each year.
Ba-doom.
But seriously, the idea of finding a way to legitimize is a good one, and many gals have told me that they have paid to get a legal entity, be it a LLC or a DBA in order to have a way to report income, get mortgages, etc.
The best way to go about this is to find the right people to hook up with in your area, and the best way to go about that is to ask for recommendations on your local board, or perhaps even the PO board, and have people PM or email you with specifics.
Good luck getting this done.