I think that before this goes any further and gets any more negative a few things need to be pointed out: 1. Everyone has the ability to shop where they want. If you don't like HD, don't go there. 2. DH, who is an upstanding contractor, and I donate A LOT of time and effort to Habitat for Humanity and hardly ever see local vendors donating. The prevailing attitude seems to be: "let them pay for it themselves like everyone else." DH has severed several local business ties because of this attitude, and from reports up and down the east coast several other contractors involved with HfH have done the same thing. 3. Anyone can write a press release and have it published. Letters to the Editor are the general public's opportunity to do this, and, again, when local charities write their "thank yous" for donations. No big PR Department, there. 4. All charitable giving over $250 needs to be reported individually on taxes, and anyone donating over $5,000 to any 501-3(c) organization gets reported immediately. Check the IRS files to see what local places have donated NEARLY as much as the HD's and Lowes of the world. You'll be in for a shock, believe me. 4. It is very well known that the major manufacturers sell their lower-end lines at HD and Lowes and WalMart and a lot of other "big box" stores. If someone doesn't do their homework when buying a piece of equipment that costs several hundreds or thousands dollars, and doesn't realize that it's not the same thing as at a "dealership", shame on them. This lower-end equipment allows consumers to enjoy the same warrantees and service that higher-end equipment carries, without needing to spend the high-end price. Again, it's a matter of consumer responsibility. 5. THIS FORUM IS FOR THE DISCUSSION OF NEW ENGLAND PLANTS and, even with the format change, I'm really disappointed that the thread was not pulled earlier. Any sort of consumer oriented business (ie., the museum gift shop, mom and pop stores, AND DON'T get me started on "local" hardware stores that market themselves as being "local" but are franchised by conglomerates much larger than HD) has its skeletons, and to single one company out defies the spirit of GardenWeb, iVillage notwithstanding. 6. Yes, many governmental agencies and contractors responded to the several natural disasters. Last I knew, it's what they are there for. I suggest that all of you who feel strongly about HD not go there, and let others make their own decision. Spreading negative information doesn't help anyone. Let's concentrate on the positive, here!! Martie, who really hopes this whole thread gets pulled

I'm intrigued. "Follow the money" is often the ulitmate answer in business and politics. So, let's look at this from the other side. Say I'm buying a house that I have a company/contractor build for me. They have a GC and some of their own subs as well as others they hire. Each business has their "Resale number" so no one pays taxes up front. Now when the house is done, I come along and pay for it with a mortgage, but (at least in Minnesota) I do not pay any sales tax on the house purchase. So what happens to the sales tax that is supposed to be collected? Is the house purchase price artificially inflated by the builder to accomodate what the contractor should send in to the state? When one sub does work for (sells their services to) another one how does this tax get paid?

This is what happens to you when you try to do things right. If you want to have some more fun, call your mortgage company and tell them that you are going to start a business in your home. (If you take out a business insurance policy, the mortgage company will, of course, find out that you did that, because they require insurance to be in force as a condition of your mortgage.) There are probably provisions in your mortgage that prohibit turning your home into a place of business. Your city officials may have something to say about it as well, even though you won't have any sign or other exterior evidence of "a business." Before you call anyone else, read your existing homeowner's policy over VERY carefully. You may well find that there are loopholes that could allow occasional business use of your home. It's not like your husband is going to put up a big sign and turn your house into a full-scale business. (Zoning wouldn't even allow that, of course, unless you already live in a commercially-zoned area.) Many of the things people do are probably in some technical violation of a mortgage, insurance policy, or local zoning rule. I'm not saying this is okay, or that people just should ignore these types of things, but there is a reasonable threshold of common sense you have to consider. My position at this point would be that what your husband proposes to do is on a very small scale. If it really takes off and he has customers showing up every day, he'll probably want to take this out of the home into a proper commercial location anyhow.

"I have a home based business and have been able to add sq. footage to my house for an office, tax free (big enough for a bedroom). I have added value to my house if I ever want to sell it." Just to clarify this statement ... US tax laws do not allow a one-time deduction for the total cost to build the additional square footage. You may claim a home office deduction which allows you to specify the percentage of square footage used for business and depreciate this % of your total home cost over a number of years (I thinking it's around 30 years). To simplify ... instead of deducting your $30,000 cost in one year, you will be able to deduct $1000 per year for the next 30 years if you continue to be in business and use this space for business. And to take the home office deduction, you must have a profit that exceeds the amount of the home office deduction. Be aware too that claiming the home office deduction and depreciation means when you sell your home you must recapture the depreciation usually resulting in a taxable gain. Whereas, most people selling their homes have a tax-free gain. Complicated? You bet. This is simplified version of the taxes and as we all know taxes are not simple so before you take a home office deduction talk with your tax preparer to see if it's the right decision for you. And beware that claiming the home office deduction is red flag for audit. "I happen to have a product that is a health and wellness product that I drink myself, I do not retail it and need to have a monthly product order to qualify for comission so I can also deduct my own personal product use." Just to clarify this statement ... You can NOT claim a deduction for the cost of product that you use personally. Makes no difference to the IRS that the company requires you to order a monthly minimum to qualify for commission. You must take the total cost of inventory you purchased and subtract out the cost of inventory that you used personally and the resulting amount is the amount of inventory purchases you may claim. "Never take tax advice from someone trying to sell you something." Very good advice! Every year I see people that believe the tax advice from these companies and come tax time they learn that much of the information they were given on what is deductible is not true. The IRS is partial to auditing tax returns for taxpayers claiming expenses for MLM. If they see a pattern of incorrect deductions they have in the past "targeted" that MLM auditing all people in that MLM. Many of the deductions were disallowed and the taxpayers then owed back taxes, interest, and penalties. In some cases the IRS has deemed it a hobby meaning the taxpayer must claim the income but only can only deduct expenses IF they itemized AND only up to the amount of income. I have over many years seen various MLM's come and go. Heard some outlandish tax advice that they have given. Talked with taxpayers audited who ended-up owing back taxes, penalties, and interest (as usually a year or two passes before IRS notifies taxpayer about an audit). I hope this information will encourage anyone considering MLM to get tax advice from their tax preparer (or CPA) and not from the company trying to sell them.