Census Bureau for Business

[broke]

It's none of their business. It's also no something that is going to get accurate responses. It's a burden on any small business to come up with the answers.

There is somewhat private information related to all of those questionnaires. I'm sure there have been cases of someone taking it to court.

 

[CarbideBob]

It's none of their business. It's also no something that is going to get accurate responses. It's a burden on any small business to come up with the answers.

There is somewhat private information related to all of those questionnaires. I'm sure there have been cases of someone taking it to court.

Roll on floor laughing my ass off. Yes I did the long.
yoke, I'm gonna make a wild ass guess that you do not have a 50+ year old company or such experience.
These things a minor pain in the butt. We do not like them but part or the deal and paperwork.
Do not like it or want to do it? Go become an employee for others that will do it.
As a business owner this shit and so much more is part of the deal. Yes we all hate it but it is what you signed on for.
Yes one has to do some work. It is a survey for arts and charts somewhere. The data provided is obvious and easy.

 

[cnctoolcat]

I haven’t filled-out any of these overly-prying Census Bureau surveys, and don’t plan on it.

The Internal Revenue Service is the only agency getting that level of private, personal information from me and my company.

And yes, the Bureau has been conducting these surveys forever, but in 2015 the surveys themselves got way longer and probed way deeper, again into private financial information that is none of the Census Bureau’s business.

And let’s see those cover letters where the actual wording is “your response is required by law”….? I imagine that law has about as much teeth as the “do not open anybody’s mailbox but your own” federal law….

ToolCat

 

[jaguar36]

I imagine that law has about as much teeth as the “do not open anybody’s mailbox but your own” federal law….

I'm no lawyer but the law in question seems pretty cut and dry to me. Who knows how much they enforce it though.

 

[SND]

This information is very important so that they can know by exactly how much to lie to support the regime's narrative that everything is fine...

 

[Ox]

Well, as it turns out, Mamma has been getting nervous per the continuous notifications that she had been getting, so she took it to her accountant the other evening.

She was done with it a little before noon, but I have no clue when she started on it, nor how much it cost us.

Only feedback that I have heard so far is that one of the questions was "how many KWH of juice" that we use/year.
No clue what they think that they are gunna doo with that bit of info?


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Modelman]

No clue what they think that they are gunna doo with that bit of info?

Tell you that you have to reduce that by 50% per year until you go on the dole with the rest of the Dems.

 

[guythatbrews]

I just got my final notice on one of these. Oh well. I have filled them out before but not the last few times. I looked very hard for anything besides doublespeak that said this was actually required by law. I couldn't find anything because it's not there.

I do enough uncompensated record keeping to support my ridiculously complicated tax return. I will not do another thing if I it's not actually required by law or they pay my accountant and me well to do it.

 

[Stoney83]

Seen a few things like this over the years… economic questionnaires and census stuff. They don’t enforce any of the fines. Simply throw it away.

On a couple occasions I’ve mailed back empty forms and a real nasty letter telling the government to piss off. So far no one has come knocking on my door. Tell them you have a $200 paperwork fee that needs paid up front and that the 4th amendment protects you from unreasonable searches.

 

[moonlight machine]

I'm no lawyer but the law in question seems pretty cut and dry to me. Who knows how much they enforce it though.

There's laws against bribe money but they don't enforce them if it is a biden getting it.

 

[doug925]

I filled it out, and put in MANY, MANY guesses in answer to the questions asked.
Where I knew the answer off the top of my head, it was answered correctly.
If I did not know, or would need to look it up, I guessed. (and did so, BADLY!)
Penalty= kiss my A$$
Economic Census= F.O.A.D!!!!
I won't bother doing it again.

 

[Fal Grunt]

Y'all ever git this questionnaire?

Mrs. O was trying to fill it out yesterdee and asking me questions and telling me what it's asking, and for my nickel it sounds like any pertinent info that they could want is already disclosed in our IRS filings.

Then there are some (?) other questions about inventory and whatnot.

I told her that the answer to all fields should be either "see IRS filings" or "Nunyas".

Accountant says there is a $5000 fine for not complying.

Apparently this is a random thing, and not sure that this has ever come to our door before.
Any of you pushing back on this?

I will likely be pinging the NFIB about this.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

See my previous post in the other thread.

Was I holding it in.... Yes, every day I see things like this I hold it in. Every time I see idiots post about how we should have more of this, I hold it in. And then I laugh when I see threads like this and go - LOOK!!! We are paying 55 people exorbitant amounts of money to do the same thing several other federal departments are failing to do!

I'd be willing to bet a nice steak that every one of those 55 people make more than you and I.

When will you guys learn?

I want to export a product, it doesn't go in automobiles, it doesn't go in airplanes, it doesn't go in firearms, but to export it *legally* I have to contact FORTY TWO Federal agencies to ask them permission to export it.

I literally have a list of people in foreign countries, a total of 14 different countries if I remember right, that have asked me to ship this product outside the US.

Congress will spend millions of dollars this year, having meetings, discussing why our exports of manufactured goods aren't higher.

 

[Ox]

Huh, that's interesting.
Likely stems from enforcing trade agreements with each country?

I ship to Canada with some frequency, and have shipped to Norway before as well.
No red flags ever flown in the shipment of snowmobile parts yet.

Not sure how that would go if I got an order from Russia right now?
Haven't had (gotten?) to cross that bridge yet.

I didn't know that we had 42 Fed agencies?


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Fal Grunt]

Huh, that's interesting.
Likely stems from enforcing trade agreements with each country?

I ship to Canada with some frequency, and have shipped to Norway before as well.
No red flags ever flown in the shipment of snowmobile parts yet.

Not sure how that would go if I got an order from Russia right now?
Haven't had (gotten?) to cross that bridge yet.

I didn't know that we had 42 Fed agencies?


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Since you have not filed for export permits, that means your just illegally exporting components, and haven't been caught yet. Will you get caught? Probably not. Will they fine/prosecute you? Probably not.

A friend of mine got a phone call at work one day from an "unregistered number". He answered it, it was a federal investigator, who was at his house, and wanted to speak to him. The federal investigator was from the department of commerce. My friend of course immediately left work and went home. They had a very nice polite chat, where the federal investigator showed him his entire purchase and sales history on ebay. Including the 1 item that he had sold overseas and shipped though ebay's global shipping program. The investigator was very polite and told him that they had no problem with the sale, or what he sold, just that he had to have a export license, and needed to file export paper work for each shipment. There were also several other federal agencies he would need to get licenses from and file export paperwork with for each shipment to continue his sales.

The item he sold was $50.

"A to Z Index of U.S. Government Agencies. Updated by the Federal Register, includes list of all 438 agencies and sub-agencies. VP, Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, HHS, Homeland Security, HUD, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, Veterans Affairs & Attorney General."

 

[Ox]

Well, just filling out the paperwork for these things is already a long enough process, that I wouldn't even consider jumping through anymore hoops to process. It would just mean that the good folk's from Canada will have to live with junky Rotax recoils. Life goes on...

Hopefully the G-man isn't concerned aboot it.
I'm filling out the paperwork on the USPS site.
Not like I'm trying to hide anything.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[DDoug]

I thought you just drive to Deetroit, and turn right, go over a bridge....

 

[Bill D]

Years ago one census question was do you have a flush toilet? that info was released as average percent per county or some such. good info for toilet salesmen and plumbers to build a business on. They have asked have a phone, TV, internet , cable tv etc.
Something like 72 years after, they release the actual data. So 1950 Data is out now. I see my Dad living at home in 1930 with no mother, brother and sister out of the house.
Bill D

 

[metal-ica]

I've been ignoring since March and they send me a certified mail letter 2 weeks ago demanding compliance.

I caved and finished it. It's intrusive and took about about 90 minutes trying to be reasonably accurate.

And yes, they ask how many kilowatt hours of energy we used in 2022.

 

[guythatbrews]

I call bullshit!

 

[EmGo]

Since you have not filed for export permits, that means your just illegally exporting components,

Bull Fucking Shit. We exported stuff all over the world from the US, (not as much as I want these days), no hassle no weirdo permits no licenses no nothing and no "federal investigators" showing up at the house. Some stuff is controlled, like machines with over six axes, but you just fill out some minor stuff and off ya go - unless it's for making props for rooski subs. Hell, they're still hung up on that when half the planet can make those five axis profilers now. It's dumb, but that's the extent of it.

For everything else it's just the standard Customs stuff so they can get their tax money. No big thing and been around since at least George Washington (whisky rebellion). Customs duties have always been a thing.