guywithaticket
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York / cross state lines
I am a distributor that works with an engineer that specs products for construction projects. The engineer wins bids (based on pricing and his connections) and then draws up plans that require purchasing products from me. These are products that the job needs and they are sold to the contractor for a fair market price and sometimes a really low price. I pass along the thank you/kickback to the engineer after each sale is complete. The value of these kickbacks totaled about $12,000 last year. The contractor does not know about the arrangement of course, but the pricing is in line with the market value so it isn't like they're getting a bad deal on the products. These jobs aren't government jobs or related to government funding in any way.
What do you think of the legality of the situation? I know it isn't the most ethical, but I don't really feel bad since the pricing is fair and the contractor is happy with the pricing/products. Also, the engineer does receive a 1099 misc income for his commissions. So from a tax standpoint there shouldn't be any issues. Thoughts?
I am a distributor that works with an engineer that specs products for construction projects. The engineer wins bids (based on pricing and his connections) and then draws up plans that require purchasing products from me. These are products that the job needs and they are sold to the contractor for a fair market price and sometimes a really low price. I pass along the thank you/kickback to the engineer after each sale is complete. The value of these kickbacks totaled about $12,000 last year. The contractor does not know about the arrangement of course, but the pricing is in line with the market value so it isn't like they're getting a bad deal on the products. These jobs aren't government jobs or related to government funding in any way.
What do you think of the legality of the situation? I know it isn't the most ethical, but I don't really feel bad since the pricing is fair and the contractor is happy with the pricing/products. Also, the engineer does receive a 1099 misc income for his commissions. So from a tax standpoint there shouldn't be any issues. Thoughts?