[stdbrouw]

In the US income from a hobby can just be added to your personal filing [1] and in Belgium, where I live, there is a similar arrangement for "diverse sources of income" [2]. If you do start a business, in the European Union you're exempt from filing VAT if your yearly revenue is below a certain amount [3]. Europe has also been pretty aggressive in getting rid of licensing requirements for various occupations and trades, certainly a photographer wouldn't need a license here.

I think the trouble you faced, resulted from being at the edge of these kinds of simple systems that do exist -- big enough to need to set up a business, but small enough that hiring an accountant or spending time to familiarize yourself with the legal requirements was out of proportion to the expected revenue. That's unfortunate, of course, but doesn't necessarily reflect on the amount of red tape that exists in general in a country.

[1] https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-differenc...

[2] https://www.vlaanderen.be/economie-en-ondernemen/een-eigen-z...

[3] https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/vat-exemp...

[thewebguyd]

Yeah, federally there's no problem here. It's the state I live in that's the problem.

Any revenue over $12,000 and you have to register with the Department of Revenue, get a business license, and start paying business and occupation tax and sales taxes (if applicable). If your business is subject to collect sales tax at all, you have to register no matter what your gross revenue is. Unfortunately, the state doesn't have any exemptions for sales tax like the EU.

For some states in the US it is quite a bit simpler, unfortunately for mine it's not and it's like they do everything in their power to prevent small businesses.

[cestith]

All business income should be subject to a tiny share of total revenue, maybe with some portion of it being deductible like input materials, durable equipment purchases, and employee benefits. The first US state to truly grasp and embrace this will get flooded with new businesses, but it will piss off the legal and CPA firms.