This might be a brutal reply, meaning very long due to the tons of quotes that are included, so please forgive me on that... I don't have the time to hack everything apart for brevity, so there might be some things that are mingled together oddly. =)
...and partly because it's really nobody's business.
You're absolutely right. But don't be surprised when questions are asked when you guys carry out the rest of your business in a very public manner.
People can have questions all that they want to. Whether they're reasonable to answer is another matter. What's next, someone wants me to post my credit report in the interest of transparency because I'm involved with Axanar? Anyone that's interested can hire, at their expense, a forensic accountant and we'll be glad to open the books for Axanar Productions to them. *shrug*
Perhaps it would be worthwhile to inquire with someone on the production who does know about such matters then? I find it very hard to believe that Uncle Sam isn't going to want his cut, even if it's coming from Kickstarter.
As for wages and withholding, wouldn't that actually be something that would be dealt with on a W-9 form rather than a 1099?
In the end, I'm not going to invest the time to ask whomever is handling that the specifics... partly because I don't care to bother (sorry) and partly because it's really nobody's business.
If you're spending money from the Kickstarter fundraisers on taxes, I don't see why it's suddenly confidential information given that you, Alec, Rob, and others on the production keep insisting how "transparent" everything is, and which is why I asked if it would be possible for you to inquire with someone from the production's accounting department to elaborate on the matter.
Again, if the fundraised money is being spent on taxes, that would seem to fall under the umbrella of "donations and how they're spent."
Well that helps to know. Obviously, if it's a matter of filing something that is not for public record, there's nothing to be done about it. But my previous comments still stand.
I appreciate your honesty.
Technically we're registered in California as a regular for-profit corporation
...so Axanar will be making profit then? Or are you referring here to Ares Studios?
and we're not going to bother going after formal non-profit status with the IRS, at least for now. Counsel has informed us about that process, and there are plenty of hoops and expenses to deal with, so that doesn't interest us now. Maybe down the road though, but for now that process is an expensive distraction.
...because I don't think it makes a lot of sense to be advertising that you're using Axanar the film as a non-profit project ostensibly to help set up Ares Studios an ostensibly for-profit entity/company, and then later consider filing for become a non-profit status?
Would you be able to clarify any of these points, Terry? I am trying to understand, but also confused by your answers.
With so many quotes, I'm rather confused at the moment... well more frustrated, at least with trying to make sense of this Reply to Thread window. =P Talk about a cluster f*ck of tags. So, let me see if I can make sense of everything above here:
There is no suddenly confidential info re what if anything might be in the way of tax liability re: Kickstarter donations and what, if anything, might have to be paid to the state or feds. I'm just not interested in going in to it, sorry. We'll release what we release as we've promised to release it when we choose to release it, like we've done. No, I won't be asking accounting for more info. If there's something to release then it'll be in a future release, but I'm not going to gopher random minutia. That doesn't mean that it's not a valid question. It simply means that people are going to have to wait until we release it -- heck, for all I know, the fiscal year for corporate taxes isn't even up yet. *shrug* Patience, grasshopper.
For your question on whether Axanar will be making a profit, I think that's a rather obvious answer. No. Money comes in through donations to the production from whatever means, money is spent on making the film, and at the end there will be a zero balance and a pile of receipts to account for every penny. Now, the separate entity of Ares Studios, which will be making for-profit films, which will (we hope) be able to pump some of those earnings in to Axanar Productions as donations, is a whole different animal though. The purpose of Ares Studios will be to generate revenue that will, among other things, pay the lease, light bills, insurance, and all of the other fundamental bits, so that it and Axanar Productions can continue to exist in the long term. If we can cover many of Axanar Productions expenses from the for-profit site then that means less money, or perhaps even no money, might be needed from future fundraisers. That's a big question mark, but we're sure going to try and have the for-profit side hold up the not-for-profit side as best as we can.
As for clarification re: our current non-interest in pursuing formal non-profit status for Axanar Productions, we've learned that it's not as simple as filling out a few forms and firing them off to the IRS. It's a rather long, involved, and expensive (especially if you have lawyers involved) process to have happen. Right now that's just a big distraction of time, focus, and, most importantly, money, that we'd much rather pour in to the film at hand. Maybe we'll revisit that down the road when the film has been released and we don't (hopefully for a while) have 100 different things going at once on any given day. Not to mention that if we can get the for-profit side earning some money then it could pay for the legal vultures that would make the formal non-profit status happen. Speaking only for me, and I'm sure Alec could get behind this, we'd much rather keep those goodness knows how many thousands of dollars in the film and not in the lawyer's accounts receivable tally for the month.
In the end, proper non-profit status isn't that important to us, because we're not earning profit anyways as a functional matter. Just because someone gives you a dollar doesn't mean that it's legally taxable, but for more info do consult an accountant or tax attorney if you'd like specific answers on such things -- I'm not qualified to offer such advice.
If you're spending money from the Kickstarter fundraisers on taxes, I don't see why it's suddenly confidential information given that you, Alec, Rob, and others on the production keep insisting how "transparent" everything is.
Doesn't make a lot of sense from the outside looking in.
You're assuming there is money from Kickstarter funds that is or would be spent on taxes, which may or may not be correct. Our tax liability, if any, for the not-for-profit effort of Axanar Productions would appear on a line item if any exists in a future expense/budget release. I'm not here to teach tax law. Keep your eye out for future releases of 'the books' to see if any money was actually due and paid to the government, because if we have tax liability then it will, of course, be paid without question. But, If you have real interest on such things as it applies to our situation as a California s-corp then my advice would be to consult with an accountant or a tax attorney for clarification... on your dime, of course. =P
