Mr. Jensen, as an artist who has exhibited in the Chamber of Commerce events for over 20 years, I find your comment in the May 8, 2019 issue regarding sales/sales tax to be somewhat offensive.
Your comment, “Who knows? These are artists,” is prejudicial to all artists who have supported the event for many years.
All artists are required to obtain a Fountain Hills city license and state of Arizona sales tax permit. I collect and remit all required taxes on my sales. Most people are aware that the large majority of sales involve a credit/debit card. These transactions are processed through a third party financial institution which, at year’s end, sends both the artist and the IRS a 1099 statement.
After 20-plus years of visiting and enjoying Fountain Hills, we recently semi-retired and purchased a home here. As an artist, I will continue to exhibit and support the highly professional job the Chamber of Commerce does to promote the event and our community.
Again, I find your comments, “Who knows? They are artists” and “my hunch is that a lot of sales don’t even show up as revenue, let alone produce any sales tax,” to be improper and offensive.
