This is a great question and one that is not easily answered without getting a lawyer and a CPA to actually dig through all the beaurocratic garbage that limits growth and creativity for the biodiesel community. However, as a private homebrew hobbiest it becomes very difficult for the
government to control and regulate your activities. For example: how do
you determine that bioodiesel in the fuel tank of a truck that has had
the taxes paid or not, or if it is homebrew or purchased from a
legitament fueling station (unless it is died for off road use)? If you
are only providing your fuel to private parties who you know and trust
on a personal basis and not to the general public, I wouldn't worry to
much about all the obstacles involved. If you want to start selling to
the general public then the rules change dramatically and all the legal
avenues should be taken care of.
I would recomend starting a co-op because you can limit some of the legal hassles starting off. As you grow and expand and bring in more revenue you can think about opening to the public. A great Co-Op to simulate would be the Piedmont Biofuels. This article could also be of interest " how to start a Co-Op."
You would think that the government would make it as easy to pay them
as going online and typing in a few numbers and some basic info and
then pay with a credit card the taxes owed on the fuel so you can print
out a receipt to show you are legal. But, instead they get the EPA,
DOT, IRS, and who knows who else involved and make it a hassle. To pay your taxes on the biodiesel you are consuming I think the form is IRS form 637, and I couldn't even begin to give any legal/tax advice on how to fill it out. Maybe we could get someone else who has more understanding with law and taxes to provide direction to this post. Another link to their site for info would be http://www.irs.gov/publications/p510/index.html:
Telephone Assistance for Individuals:
Toll-Free, 1-800-829-1040
Telephone Assistance for Businesses:
Toll-Free, 1-800-829-4933
To find out about any permits or safety issues with the amount of chemicals you will be storing, you could give a quick call to your local fire chief and ask him about any zoning and permit limitations you may have. I live in city limits so my limitations for supplies for personal use at home are around 55 gallons, not to mention, my neighbors would get pretty upset if I had a 6000 gallon tanker truck delivering and picking up supplies. If you live out of city limits you may have little to no limitations.
