So with the economy in the tank, you're seeing more and more people return to bartering (including using formal bartering networks). Other then building roads, I pretty much only have one talent/skill, and that's making booze. Now normally, because the government hates business and entrepreneurs, this does me no good. However, I chanced to run across the carpenter who made the custom cabinets in my condo. Somewhere in our discussion on house buying, he said he would be open to the idea of building me a bar for my new house in exchange for some custom made homebrew (I buy materials, he provides the skills and labor for the bar; Vice versa for booze).
This got me thinking, what other home repair/improvement services might I be able to obtain via booze? My regular handyman is a good old boy, who employs good old boy Poles. I bet I could get them to remodel my bathroom in exchange for booze. My neighbor's kid is a professional painter. My vet seemed to really like the Christmas cyser I gave him. Etc, etc.
So the question becomes, is that illegal? And more importantly, when does the TTB take notice and send their Jackboots after you?
Technically, I'd say the answer to the first is "Yes". The TTB rules and regulations say you can't sell booze without a license, but makes no mention of trading. At first I thought maybe there was a chance of a loophole, but a bit of searching finds that the IRS treats bartering exactly as income. If the IRS treats it like income, I should think the TTB would as well.
The real question then becomes, how much do they pay attention? I'm looking at "BarterQuest", and I'm seeing all manner of services being offered that would require all kinds of licensing and certifications if you were doing it for cash. This implies to me that the various regulatory agencies aren't really paying a lot of attention to the bartering world.
Anyway, just something rattling around the old skull. I'm curious if anyone has tried any kind of significant bartering of their booze, or seen anything regarding how much enforcement the government is doing on such things.
- Brett
This got me thinking, what other home repair/improvement services might I be able to obtain via booze? My regular handyman is a good old boy, who employs good old boy Poles. I bet I could get them to remodel my bathroom in exchange for booze. My neighbor's kid is a professional painter. My vet seemed to really like the Christmas cyser I gave him. Etc, etc.
So the question becomes, is that illegal? And more importantly, when does the TTB take notice and send their Jackboots after you?
Technically, I'd say the answer to the first is "Yes". The TTB rules and regulations say you can't sell booze without a license, but makes no mention of trading. At first I thought maybe there was a chance of a loophole, but a bit of searching finds that the IRS treats bartering exactly as income. If the IRS treats it like income, I should think the TTB would as well.
The real question then becomes, how much do they pay attention? I'm looking at "BarterQuest", and I'm seeing all manner of services being offered that would require all kinds of licensing and certifications if you were doing it for cash. This implies to me that the various regulatory agencies aren't really paying a lot of attention to the bartering world.
Anyway, just something rattling around the old skull. I'm curious if anyone has tried any kind of significant bartering of their booze, or seen anything regarding how much enforcement the government is doing on such things.
- Brett