I am ready to start selling chocolates, not cakes, and want to get legit. I went to apply for a vendors license and they said that since I will not be collecting tax I don't need one. Which would be fine except that in order to get into any good wholesale place, one needs a vendors license. How do you go about this? I live in Ohio.

I'm assuming what you are calling a vendor's license, is what we refer to over here as a Registered Retail Merchants Certificate, aka "sales tax license".

Each state is different, but if I have a RRMC (sales tax license), then I have to report my sales every month to the Indiana IRS. Even if 100% of my sales are tax exempt, I would have to report "Zero sales taxable .... $1000 tax exempt .... zero dollars due to the IRS". So it's a paperwork thing.

As you talk to the wholesale places, tell them "My business is not required to have a vendors (aka sales tax) license since I do not collect sales tax. What do you take from businesses in that category?"

Some businesses (sole proprietor) use their SS# as their Biz ID#, but many people are uncomfortable using the SS# as an ID number.

I live and work in Pa and when I started my cake business, I applied for a tax ID number because I do charge sales tax on my products. I also do not PAY sales tax on items purchased for my business.

Thanks!