Virginia State News
Beehive Tax Credit being considered in Virginia
Special thanks to Keith Provost for passing this important information along-
12100941D
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-339.13 as follows:
§ 58.1-339.13. Beehive tax credit.
A. For taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2012, but before January 1, 2015, any taxpayer who purchases equipment to start a new beehive shall be entitled to a credit against the tax levied pursuant to § 58.1-320 of an amount equal to $200 per new hive, not to exceed $2,400 per year. In order to be eligible, the taxpayer shall register as a beekeeper with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and request and receive an inspection of his new hives from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
B. The total amount of tax credits under this section for a calendar year shall not exceed $500,000. In the event that applications for such credits exceed $500,000 for any calendar year, the Department of Taxation shall allocate the credits on a pro rata basis.
C. If the amount of the credit exceeds the taxpayer’s liability for the taxable year, the excess may be carried over for credit against the income taxes of the taxpayer in the next five taxable years or until the total credit amount has been taken, whichever occurs first.
2. That the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall compile, maintain, and distribute a Virginia Beekeeping Guide to provide information to beekeepers on beekeeping.
Here is the full link:
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Virginia State Fair Honey Booth
Cathy Law<cathylaw@verizon.net> has contacted BONS on behalf of a consortium of bee clubs in the Richmond area who are together planning the Honey Booth at the Virginia State Fair, which will be Sept. 29-Oct. 9, 2011 at The Meadow Event Park, which is adjacent to Kings Dominion. (I’m guessing that is in, or near Richmond.) Her email is large and mainly addresses the changes in the State Fair Honey booth this year. I have extracted some items that are proposed for this year. If you are interested in reading the whole email contact me rmfineart@earthlink.net and I will forward it to you.
All honey sold at the booth is to be Virginia honey and labeled according to Va. regulations. The honey must be clean and in new containers and appropriately sealed. The honey containers should be in boxes, for easier storage during the fair.
There will be more emphasis in the booth on educational materials about honey and honeybees
To simplify sales, beekeepers are asked to provide honey in the following sizes: 1 lb. (either glass or plastic squeeze), 8 oz. (glass or plastic), pint jars, 2-lb. jars and/or 12 oz. bears. Beekeepers are also asked to provide a jar of each variety of honey they bring (bear or 1 lb. squeeze jar) to be used for samples.
Booth will be manned by volunteers from various bee clubs 2 to 4 people per shift (higher number on the weekends), in 6-hour shifts (generally 10AM-4 PM, 4 PM-10PM). Those manning the booth usually rotate for meal and rest breaks.
Proceeds from the honey sales will be divided between the clubs, based on the number of shifts a club works.
The proposed price range for selling honey to the public is $8 or $10 per pound. The price paid to the beekeeper would be 20% less than the retail price. Prices for other sizes will be prorated (such as, $4.50 for 8 oz., etc., if 1-lb is sold for $8). A decision will be made by late July about the final sale prices for honey.
Beekeepers are encouraged to enter honey and other hive products in the competitions. Go to the State Fair website for more info: http://www.statefair.com/pdf/competition/2011/2011_Open%20Honey.pdf
Doug Morris
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