Questions prompted by the Inland Revenue Thread.

1) What is a commercial breeder?

2) When does a breeder stop being a 'hobby' breeder and become a commercial breeder?

3) Are breeders whom breed enough to warrant tax returns - 'commercial breeders'?

4) In your opinion: How many litters per year would a breeder have to breed for you to consider them a commercial breeder?

Okay, I'll have a bash!

1) Tricky! Breeding unregistered puppies for a start. Also when their breeding stock are never independently evaluated.

2) When they start to produce litters purely for sale rather than keep one to carry on their line.

3) Pretty much a catch-all; anyone who pays basic rate income tax technically needs to declare income from the sale of puppies, so only the very poor would fall outwith this.

4) Much along the lines of most councils. About 4 or 5, especially if it they were producing several litters every year rather than have 4 in one year and then none for two years, say.

Questions prompted by the Inland Revenue Thread.

1) What is a commercial breeder?

1) One that makes his/her living breeding dogs, i.e. no other source of income.

2) When does a breeder stop being a 'hobby' breeder and become a commercial breeder?

2) When breeding for financial gain and can afford to live off the profits and have no other source of income.

3) Are breeders whom breed enough to warrant tax returns - 'commercial breeders'?

3) Almost certainly.

4) In your opinion: How many litters per year would a breeder have to breed for you to consider them a commercial breeder?

4) More than 5. In my breeds 5 litters would be a sales income of £17,500 to £30,000

Dawn R.

1) Anyone who sells a pup is a commercial breeders - may not be on a full time basis, may not be only source of income, but the act of selling rather than giving makes it a commercial activity.  However, Local Authorities usually look at it as breeding more that 4 litters per year (although they can decide that commercial breeding is taking place with less than this, if they think they have cause) and Tax Authorities usually look at it from a profit angle - they don't care about how many pups are sold, hours are put in, other jobs are held, they jsut want ot know if a profit is made, and if so have you declared it - the same with any profit form any ativity or hobby.

2) Again, in whose eyes - Local Authority angle given in (1), Tax Authorities don't care about the status, only the profit line.  In the eyes of the KC the 4 litter rule applies.  So are we deciding on some figure between Zero and Four litters per year for the definition?  This is the problem, isn't it?  And then comes the difference of breed and litter size- some giant breeds produce more in one litter than lots of toy breeds would produce in 4.  So  I think my definition comes close to the Tax one, if you make a profit, then it is a commercial activity.

3) I think so

4) See answer 2 - I don't think we can hinge this one just on number of litters.  OK. over 4 is commercial in the eyes of Authorities, but number of pups/profit made have to come into it.
bye
Gwen
ps
Just to throw a spanner in the works - we usually seem to use "commercial Breeder" in a derogatory fashion - almost synonymous with puppy farm.  Yet many of our most famous kennels are commercial breeders, and breed to the highest standard with the best possible care.