Peggy C. Bie wrote: > > The world has changed, and I am appalled. No wonder people can't afford > anything. > > Back in my days of being an independent musician I deducted these things from > my income tax form as business expenses from the money I charged as fees, > usually ending with no profit on which to pay taxes. I never dreamed of > charging customers for my own business expenses. I thought these were > deductions to subtract from what I earned. Now people are terying to charge > the client, the customer and the student for expenses of running a private > business. So now the ethic seems to overchargwe the customer for one's own > business expenses and don't bother with submitting expenses to the IRS. I > can't believe that our nation has become so greedy as to overcharge others for > ones own business expenses. > Shock! > > >vacation time > >convention costs > >insurance costs > >auto expenses > >office and work space > >new tools > >...etc... > > America - the land of greed! > Rev. Peggy C. Bie > "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." -Anais Nin > http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/1095 Hi, Peggy. Nice to meet you. I think what peole really are saying is that you need to charge enough for your services to make a living. You must take into account that you go to conventions for continuing eduction, take two weeks off for vacation, and must meet other obligations, such as staying home with a sick child, that prevent you from earning money. Depending on where you live, you may charge more or less than someone else for the same services to meet financial obligations. I live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. It's not cheap to live here. The average faimly income is around $75,000 per year. The average cost of a home is about $220,000. When I was employed in the telecommunications field, a good income was easy to earn. Now that I'm a piano tech, my income has dropped by 50%. Yes, I take business deductions on my taxes, but with such a low income, there is not much left over. If my wife did not work, I could not afford to be a piano tech. The reason I put up with this situation is that my daughter comes home with me after her 2nd grade classes and does not go to after school day care. You may ask,"Frank, why don't you work and have your wife stay home?" Well, even in my telecommunications job, I did not make enough to support that arrangement, despite the fact that I purchased my home for less than the average for this area. We could move to a cheaper area, but my wife's family lives here, so I expect we will be here at least until retirement. Yes, there is greed. We get hit everywhere for more money. But here is the real reason why many people run out of money. Most people here have cellualar phones, computers, VCRs, cable TV, new cars(BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Infiniti are all VERY common here), big screen TVs and on and on. They consider these things necessities, not luxuries. On top of this, they purchased the most expensive home they could buy. After the bills are paid, there's not much money left! This includes money to fix pianos. Piano techs must charge enough to stay in business. Unfortunately, people don't think that piano techs should charge like heating repair techs, auto mechanics, or electrcians. Here are some typical service fees for this area: heating tech $85/hour auto tech $60/hour electrician $75/hour Pretty high, huh? Yet if I charge $36/hour to fix a piano, people say "that's a lot of money!" My fees are about average according to my yearly survey. Typically, people spend $$$ on the greatest priorities, even if it's a luxury car. Unfortunately, pianos don't seem to be high on the list for may people So we have two choices. Charge less and go out of business or charge more and stay employed. If we charge too much, customers will vanish. That is just basic business commn sense. One final thought.You said your expenses as a musician, when deducted from taxes, left you with no profit to be taxed. So if you earned $20,000 and had $20,000 in deductions, you didn't pay tax. But you also had noting left over...you worked for free! Please don't think that piano techs are money grubbing jerks. Most that I know are living on incomes well below the average for were they live. Many moonlight at other jobs. They are piano techs because they love it. The techs I personaly know are honest and do honest work. I model myself after these folks. Thank you for your time, Frank Cahill Assoc Member PTG Northern Virgina
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