Directed Group Sale

[Captain Goddammit]

Well I waited until I got home from work, logged on and bought tickets, smooth sailing just like everyone else said.

[The Rod]

Talk about easy.


Girlfriend logged in and bought two tickets with no problems. I didn't have to do a thing!

[Soapdish85]

Smooth and easy, thanks ticket peeps.

[strange love]

$963.74!!!!!!!!!

Is this the grand total for 2 tickets and a vehicle pass?

[BBadger]

Yeeeup....

2x ($390/ticket+ $35.38/"live entertainment tax") + $80.00/vehicle pass + $12.00/shipping first class + $21/service fee.

Kiss my ass Nevada. That tax is coming out of your tip: I'll buy everything out of state.

[lucky420]

Wha....?

No bitchen about the increase in vp costs?

[BBadger]

That sucks too, but the vehicle passes are at least related to reducing traffic that is the limiting factor in total ticket numbers. That "live entertainment" tax is just to milk this cash cow without any benefit in return. Maybe if the tax were compensated by discouraging the LEO from using the event to generate revenue through fines it would be okay.

[lucky420]

Ya, as a resident I hope to see some good use of that tax money.


Bwahahaha who am I kidding....

[Shoeshine]

OMG that was painless (other than the credit card bill)

waited till 3:00 and was done in about 75 sec.

[trilobyte]

/rant warning Don't take this the wrong way, Lucky, but I hope that Nevada residents and businesses suffer as a result of the tax. You (not you specifically, but you as in NV residents and the officials they've elected) give exemptions to tons of other events on the premise that they bring in a lot of out-of-state visitors who then spend their money in hotels, restaurants, casinos, and other businesses. Burning Man easily fits that description, but lawmakers didn't care, and residents didn't care enough to raise the flag with their lawmakers. Speaking personally, where in the past I used to look at the last minute shopping and food supplies and see what we could buy in the state to show support and throw business their way... I will no look at the last minute shopping and food supplies and see how I can spend as little in the state as possible. I know all burners can't do that (if you're flying into Reno your options are pretty limited), but my hope is that thousands of other burners do that, and that businesses in the region suffer. Reduced revenues and profits, and reduced revenues for the state. Maybe if they suffer enough, they'll care enough to raise the flag to lawmakers and Burning Man will get the same kind of exemption that is granted to other events without any question. /end rant

I'm not really bothered by the vehicle pass increase either. I think that in the past, the price (at $40 and $50) was so low that it encouraged people to hoard them. In 2013 people cried and freaked out, and in the end Burning Man not only didn't sell out, but 5,000 went unused. In 2014 the numbers were reduced to bring it in line with 2013 actual usage, and again people cried and freaked out, and yes absolutely people had a really hard time getting vehicle passes... it took months for some folks to get what they needed. That's because other people grabbed more than they needed, and they didn't let go of them until later in the season. Hopefully, with the increase in price fewer people will be inclined to buy extras, and those that do (maybe the details of their plans are still up in the air) will let go of what they don't need much sooner.

I'm glad to hear that the DGS is running so smoothly for everyone.

[Skuzzy61]

Oh, we are planning to stop short of the Nevada state line and fill the RV up. We will spend as little as humanly possible in Nevada. I hope many people do the same. We even cancelled a trip to Vegas for a short celebration of our anniversary.

I firmly believe in speaking with my wallet. It is the only thing politicians truly seem to understand.

[Elliot]

Methinks it is common, nationwide, for communities to tally their extra sales related to special events, and to report this to the news media -- or at least to make that information available thru... say, the Chamber of Commerce, perhaps.
So I'm thinking... somebody competent could keep an eye on this and then point out to Nevada and the Nevada business-community any drop in sales that can be attributed to this tax.
(Just brainstorming, of course.)

[Slug]

Got my tickets this morning. Getting DGS tickets is so damn nice. (And vastly preferable to joining the general sale stampede!) They're a hard earned luxury but a luxury nonetheless and I try to remember to appreciate it. The buy went smooth as buttah apart from that damned extra $70....

Speaking of which, I'm with Elliot & Skuzzy wholeheartedly. I wish more people would think to vote with their wallets! It's the best (only?) way to make the gov't/corps truly pay attention. Liking a protest page on Facebook, starting change.org petitions or indignantly tweeting is pointless if you continue to reward their behavior with your moneys.

Pretty sure I'm preaching to the choir though.

[lucky420]

nope, i will buy all my shit in Nevada

[mudpuppy000]

Problem is, it's still cheaper to buy stuff in NV than try and spite them by buying out of state and hauling it over the sierras or wherever. Gas is like $0.90/gal cheaper in reno vs truckee.

[lucky420]

booze is pretty cheap here too

[Simon of the Playa]

5 bucks and a stick of gum will get you a blowjob in Reno...

thats reasonable.

[dustyfux]

I'll win the taxes back twentyfold at the craps table.

[Ratty]

I will gas up and get my 'fast food' fix before I hit Nevada. I feel sorry for the businesses but oh well. It's the ONLY way I can express my displeasure with the tax. Residents of the Northern California bay area are vocal and insistent when they disagree with the local politicians. Nevada businesses need to speak up. Maybe they will if we hit em where it hurts.

[Zaxary]

Maybe they'll use the tax for something good, like schools or hospitals something? I guess I don't mind paying a tax so much if the government isn't corrupt about it (I mean, there's always some unfairness and general fuckwaddery in any large administrative entity, so a tiny bit of near-"corruption" is near-tolerable). Takes some tax burden off the locals, I would hope. And it's a way of giving back, maybe, to the people who aren't the business owners and lessors and such in the BRC area who benefit from the traffic around event time. Plus, maybe some of that tax money will go back to other communities in the state that aren't so lucky as to be equipped to host a massive influx of wallets each year. I can't seem to find anything that explains specifically how the fun tax is spent, but it seems only logical that it would be spent to the benefit of the citizens.

It does suck though that the tax exemptions don't seem to be applied equitably. (A little bit of unfairness and fuckwaddery, oh government you never disappoint.)

Sigh, I don't know. I hope you'll forgive me for being naive (or perhaps worse, a horse's ass). Oh man. Sorry.

[Captain Goddammit]

Yep you're pretty naive. It's tax money, it'll go into the general fund. And no tax burden will be removed from any locals, they will pay just as much as they did before, it won't be reduced for anyone.
Burning Man doesn't cost Nevada money, they make money because of it. This is just the government reaching into your pocket a bit deeper.

[BBadger]

But that's just a rationalization. Any tax could be marketed as for "the children" or other supposedly noble purposes. That doesn't imply that the tax should exist though. Festivals like BM and EDC bring millions of dollars to the local economy. In some cases, states actually provide tax breaks to bring organizations or events to their soil. For example, events such as NASCAR is allowed to avoid that live entertainment tax by hosting 2+ races in Nevada each year.

Maybe the problem is that moving Burning Man to a different state might be difficult -- and might actually cost people more than the $35 entertainment tax if the ticket prices stayed the same.

[tamarakay]

Yep, easy peesy. But I kinda miss the old ritual of taking off work, having the laptops ready, synchronizing the clocks and the annual "do we click a few seconds before the hour or right on the hour" argument. It's been part of our burning man experience since we started going.

As far as the tax thing goes, it is a bit short sighted on nevada's part. Odd that NASCAR would get a waiver.

[lucky420]

We don't have a state income tax

[AntiM]

Utah sure as shit does. They even tax Larry's retired military pay, which I find egregious. We do get a property tax break from the county, so I guess it evens out.

Hey, free rooms at the Red Garter in Wendover, can't be all bad (unless you've actually stayed at the RG, eek).

[Elderberry]

We don't have a state income tax

I know. That's why I'm incorporated there. (Is that cheating?)

[Zaxary]

Yep you're pretty naive. It's tax money, it'll go into the general fund. And no tax burden will be removed from any locals, they will pay just as much as they did before, it won't be reduced for anyone.
Burning Man doesn't cost Nevada money, they make money because of it. This is just the government reaching into your pocket a bit deeper.

I should clarify that by "reducing the tax burden" I didn't mean anyone would benefit from reductions in current taxes. I was thinking more that if a government increases taxes in one area, they're better able to cover their budget items and might as a result be able to avoid raising other taxes (e.g. income tax, property tax, sales tax) further.

I understand your point that taxing BM participants is unnecessary and even harmful given the amount of money the event brings into the economy. To a certain extent, I could agree with you, and I absolutely respect your thoughts on the matter. I have to admit that I don't know enough about how Nevada is governed to have a well-developed opinion on this particular tax.

My opinion on taxes, in general, stems from my experiences with taxation where I come from. This isn't my philosophical position on whether or not government should exist or what it should or should not cost. I'm only saying that in the current context I live in, where there are governments that aren't obscenely wasteful or corrupt, and those governments spends some money to better conditions for everyone, and ideally would spend more money to that effect, I don't mind paying taxes. Assuming things aren't so terribly different in the U.S., I don't mind paying 9% of a totally unnecessary luxury expenditure of mine to you guys either. I mean, I winced at the price with the exchange rate and all, but at the end of the day the tax wasn't a deterrent for me and it hasn't inspired me to withhold my consumer dollars.

[^Rhino1]

[quote="Dr Dilemma"]Easiest. Sale. Ever. (Well, since the days you could wander into Sports Basement or Distractions anytime you wanted ...)[/quote]

Dr. D, your D must mean "Dead-on. It was, truly the 'easiest sale. EVER. for me also.

[Skuzzy61]

Yep you're pretty naive. It's tax money, it'll go into the general fund. And no tax burden will be removed from any locals, they will pay just as much as they did before, it won't be reduced for anyone.
Burning Man doesn't cost Nevada money, they make money because of it. This is just the government reaching into your pocket a bit deeper.

Oh come on Cap. She is not naive,....she is from Canada. Big difference.

p.s. love ya Zaxary

[Roundabout]

We don't have a state income tax

I know. That's why I'm incorporated there. (Is that cheating?)

Generally, you have to pay the state income tax to the state in which it was earned. The place of incorporation is irrelevant.