Single mother of 6 ensnared by undercover sting for selling ceviche via Facebook | Hacker News Reader

Single mother of 6 ensnared by undercover sting for selling ceviche via Facebook

washingtonpost.com

10 pointsfinid7 comments

>She hadn’t ever looked into obtaining a permit, Ruelas said, because she only sold or exchanged food items once or twice a month at most, as a hobby on occasional weekends

Well, that's a business. Not a big one but still one. If I did coding for people once or twice a month for a bit of money, I'd be operating a business. Again, low volume, but still a business.

You might say she didn't mean any harm and didn't know - well that's why a plea bargain was offered to everyone involved. When you get stubborn over it, well, then you go to court, single mother of six or not.

> Well, that's a business. Not a big one but still one.

Not necessarily. I don't know the specifics of her jurisdiction but the Australian Taxation Office for instance makes a rather vague distinction between a hobby and a business. The distinction is unclear enough that they actually publish an online tool to help you determine if you are engaged in a hobby or business. Simply earning money is not enough to qualify as a business (according to the ATO).

It's the same in the UK. There's a distinct category for small volume, occasional transactions like this. Surely it must be the same in the US? All those people occasionally selling their junk on eBay aren't all registered businesses right? But then food might be different.

This is till ridiculous though. All the cops had to do was give them a warning and I'm sure they would have just stopped. No need for a one year investigation, fines, etc. It's an obvious case of wasteful overkill.

It's a little bit different because she's engaging in trade - she's creating something with the intent to sell it. If I buy a second hand car every other month to do up and sell I'm a trader.

In the UK we tend to warn before prosecuting. The article says a warning was sent to the group, so they didn't seem to rush to prosecute.

To play devil's advocate, you may also be a hobbyist who is trying to cover his expenses.

I like the UK. Warnings are sometimes a luxury in the USA.

> she's creating something with the intent to sell it.

This is something the ATO actually takes into account. However, just like turning a profit, this alone is not sufficient to qualify as a business.

Well, you go to toilet probably every day. Maybe you are not making money out of it, so perhaps you should register a charity?

Sad times we live in that we have people brainwashed into thinking every thing in life should be regulated.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com