Jim Wilson wrote:
Maybe I've missed something in this thread, I am not talking about a consulting business with customers, time billing, etc.
The thread started with Curt posting asking for opinions about running banner ads on flightgear.org to raise revenue. He also indicated that he'd be dealing with the initial customer directly rather than through a distributed advertising plan like Google text ads, and others chimed in suggesting how he should screen advertisers, ensure that their hardware works with FlightGear, etc. I mentioned a PayPal donations button as a better alternative, though I still had concerns about tax issues (which you indicate shouldn't be a problem for small donations).
> FWIW I'm not keen on the ad idea either. I don't think it would
produce much anyway.
As I suggested, it would produce a lot of work for little benefit, especially if Curt ends up managing customer relationships with advertisers one-on-one (much less doing all the screening that people want him to do).
For that matter the IRS 800 number offers the same info and probably the website does too.
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I have no problem with a donations button as long as it causes no tax problems for Curt. It is worth noting a formal PayPal donations account does leave a (virtual) paper trail and the tax auditors like to hike along that kind of trail, so it would be good to check with people who know. I don't know U.S. professional fees that well, but I'd guess that a full audit would leave a person at least USD 5K-10K poorer just in accounting and/or legal fees, even if the auditors do not end up finding anything wrong.
All the best,
David
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