By Anna Kaminski
TOPEKA — Melody Ellis started her first business at 4 years old, and while juggling an art business and an artisan lemonade stand, she is working on her third.
Ellis, the junior executive director of the Society of Child Entrepreneurs, told a committee of Kansas legislators Thursday about Melody Paints, her venture selling drip art paintings, while testifying in favor of a bill dubbed the “lemonade stand law.”
House Bill 2599 exempts minor-owned businesses from paying sales taxes on annual earnings up to $10,000, along with local taxes, licenses, permits and other government permissions.
Ellis was one of three young people to vouch for the benefits of the policy.
“Starting and running my own business has helped me grow in ways that school alone could not,” she said. “I have learned how to talk to customers, explain my ideas clearly, handle money responsibly and solve problems when things do not go as planned.”
Meanwhile, as Ellis maintains a specialty lemonade business with her younger sister — they charge $5 per cup of lemonade and an extra 50 cents for the addition of edible glitter or pieces of candy — she said she is rebranding Melody Paints to Melody Creates to expand her offerings to other creative pursuits.
Rep. Adam Smith, a Weskan Republican and chair of the House Taxation Committee, called the three girls brave and inspiring.
“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and I think this is my favorite hearing ever,” he said.
He added: “I’m not even going to ask for opponents.”
The bill was sponsored by a group of more than 40 representatives. A financial estimate said any decrease in state tax revenue because of the bill would be negligible. Libertarian think tank Libertas Institute and conservative advocacy organization Americans for Prosperity wrote in to support the bill.
Justin Rice, director of state government affairs for Libertas, said the bill was “carefully crafted” and contained “sensible guardrails.”
“The premise of this bill is simple:” Rice said, “a young person seeking to earn money by selling lemonade, mowing lawns, or offering handmade goods to neighbors should not be required to navigate the same tax and licensing framework as a commercial business.”
