In the "old days", one of the reasons for buying from mail-order is the savings in sales tax. These days I'm getting charged sales tax from everyone, no matter what or where I buy from! Most irritating to say the least.

Some of you may think this is fully acceptable... but I don't. If I'm not buying from an in-state source, there should be no sales taxes... PERIOD!

Just my opinion... I don't expect most of you to agree.

Edit to add: Smaller items are not really a big deal, but when I drop $1,800.00 on a new bass guitar, like I did about a month ago, those sales taxes add up BIG TIME!!!

The US Supreme Court "Wayfair" decision of last year allows States to collect sales tax from sellers without physical nexus. That decision said states must be "reasonable" in requirements. The decision allowed a standard of $200,000 in sales a year to an individual state before requiring sales tax to be collected & paid to the state. Some states such as TN & CA set a $500,000 per year kick off. The problem arises in the cost for small online business's to implement the system. With almost 10,000 sales tax jurisdictions in the US multiplied by thousands of different tax rates it is a burden. The solution for small online retailers is to link their sales software to a software company that collects & remits to all states without regard to the $200,000 minimum. I file sales tax returns for a $5 million a year online business & it is complicated. I currently file in 24 states & all 24 do things differently. If a state sues a small business over sales taxes in Federal Court it would put them out of business. Alabama was the most burdensome state in the country to collect & file sales taxes due to the allowing of multiple jurisdictions to collect taxes themselves. To their credit Alabama immediately passed a law eliminating the multiple filings for out-of-state business's.

I don't know about your state, but my state has always had a use tax. In theory you were supposed to be paying that tax (same tax rate as sales tax) on anything you bought out of state and brought into the state. Don't think too many people did, but it was a law on the books.

quote:

Originally posted by Palm:
I don't know about your state, but my state has always had a use tax. In theory you were supposed to be paying that tax (same tax rate as sales tax) on anything you bought out of state and brought into the state. Don't think too many people did, but it was a law on the books.

Alabama has a use tax on out of state purchases too (and has for a while). It is the same rate as sales tax. So if the OP has not been paying it on his out of state purchases, he has been breaking the law.

(Incoming Alabama state tax audit for Bill R. in Madison, AL in 3... 2... 1... )

So good news, Bill! By automatically collecting and remitting the tax on your out of state purchases, these companies are now helping you to ensure that you're no longer breaking the law.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

Despite what the anarchists claim to believe, without taxes our modern way of life would come to a screeching halt. Yes, many people don’t pay their “fair” share, much money is wasted or corrupted away, yes, yes, yes. And yes: we get the government we deserve.

I am nevertheless pleased to see that more than a heretofore tiny minority of my fellow state residents—including the ones who don’t pay any other taxes whatsoever—are more and more being required to contribute to the common good. I have done that for decades since I became aware it was a legal requirement (and despite the lack of any enforcement mechanism), and it’s far past time for everyone else to do it as well.

So there.

Here's what some people still haven't put together yet.

The huge increase in internet sales have put a big dent in sales tax collection. Governments missing this money will begin making up for it by increasing taxes elsewhere, and they will figure out how to get it from online sales too.

Then what do you think will happen? Think they'll lower those taxes? I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay higher personal property taxes, income taxes, local sales taxes, or any other tax in order to subsidize those who are skirting the laws by not paying what they should.

Id rather the undesirables, illegals, welfare cases, and non-property owners, pay SOME taxes, rather than none. Ideally, we would have a 30% sales tax and EVERYONE pays it.

Everyone needs to buy goods and services, and everyone should pay sales tax. And then with the increased tax dollars coming in, the govt should give property owners a break and lower their taxes (yeah right)

Last year I received an apologetic email from JR Cigars titled, “Don’t blame us. Blame your governor. And by the way, we had to report all your 2017 purchases to you state department of revenue.” Sucks along with Amazon, B&H, and the rest of them.

Sales Tax online will cause me to cancel the order and look elsewhere.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Sales Tax online will cause me to cancel the order and look elsewhere.

So that you later have to file and submit your use tax for that purchase separately?

Why would you want that additional hassle, when you could have someone else handle it for you automatically with the click of a button? Are you some kind of masochist who enjoys filing tedious tax paperwork?

Yes, Texas has use tax too, at the same rate as sales tax. More info and forms here: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales/use-tax.php

An excerpt:

quote:

Anyone who buys taxable goods and services that are stored, used or consumed in Texas from a seller who does not charge Texas sales tax owes Texas use tax.

Most Texas sellers collect sales tax and remit it to the Comptroller’s office. But when you buy items online or by telephone, email or fax from mail order catalogs, the seller may not, and may not be required to, collect Texas sales tax. If you buy the item for use in Texas, you owe Texas use tax.

So either way, you owe the state tax. Might as well let the seller do the boring stuff for you automatically at the time of purchase by tacking on sales tax.

… You've been paying use tax, right? Or are you another one of them tax-evadin' miscreantical reprobates like the OP?

quote:

Originally posted by PD:
Last year I received an apologetic email from JR Cigars titled, “Don’t blame us. Blame your governor. And by the way, we had to report all your 2017 purchases to you state department of revenue.” Sucks along with Amazon, B&H, and the rest of them.

cigars-of-cuba.com

they won't report anything to the USA since they are in Switzerland

Marty Jackley was our State's Atty General who brought the suit that Anush cites above. Marty's arguments were solid and although I too liked avoiding sales tax when buying online out of state, it was just a matter of time because of what a1abdj describes so well above as well.

I’d gotten a couple of emails from companies I purchased from online. “blah, blah sales tax, blah reported blah...
When we were doing our taxes I asked our accountant. He chuckled, then pointed out its the sellers responsibility to collect. What they are really doing is selling at a lower price, then trying to get people to pay the sales tax.

quote:

When we were doing our taxes I asked our accountant. He chuckled, then pointed out its the sellers responsibility to collect.

Uh....you may want to find a new accountant.


https://dor.wa.gov/find-taxes-rates/use-tax


While it is indeed a seller's responsibility to collect tax (if they have a nexus), it is the buyer's responsibility to pay it if it is not collected by the seller.

I hope that at some point every mail order and internet seller collects exactly the same sales tax as a local store would charge. I like actually going out to a store to buy something and taking it home with me right now. With the disappearance of many brick and mortar retailers, in large part due to online retailers, that is becoming increasingly difficult. There are many retailers that would kill for 6% margins. Without having to collect sales tax many online retailers can offer items for sale for less than what a local retailer pays for the item because they collect the entire difference of sales taxes as profit. It wouldn’t be so bad if this was legal, but it’s not - despite the difficulty of enforcing these laws.

I’m sorry that a lot of you cheapskates won’t pay for local service, and immediate availability. However the cheapskates don’t seem to mind that their preferred buying practices are hurting my preferred way to shop and ability to do business in my preferred way. So in turn I don’t care if the survival of my preferred way to do business results in the cheapskates paying what the law obligates them to pay in the first place.

Or the real fun ordering on-line from a state that doesn't have sales tax and their website insists on collecting sales tax anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Or the real fun ordering on-line from a state that doesn't have sales tax and their website insists on collecting sales tax anyway.

You do know that state's not keeping it, right? They are having to remit it to your state....

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Or the real fun ordering on-line from a state that doesn't have sales tax and their website insists on collecting sales tax anyway.

You do know that state's not keeping it, right? They are having to remit it to your state....

No, not what I meant. Alaska has no state sales tax. Every now and then I run into an on-line retailer whose website insists on charging sales tax when ordering from up here.

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:

Or the real fun ordering on-line from a state that doesn't have sales tax and their website insists on collecting sales tax anyway.

Sales tax is normally assessed at the rate for the location where the buyer takes possession. For online orders, that should be your delivery address, so in Alaska, if there is no sales tax, there should not be any tax charged by an online seller.

Florida really makes this fun. State sales tax is 6%. Counties have the option of adding a discretionary bump, could be zero, could be 1/2 percent, could be 1%, could be more. This puts a real burden on the seller, and many sellers do not understand how this works. Many Florida online sellers charge sales tax based on where the seller is located, and this is not correct -- it should be based on the actual location where the buyer takes delivery, per the incomprehensible Florida Department of Revenue regulations. That's one reason that I do not do retail sales in my business. Wholesale only. That transfers the burden of dealing with sales tax, to the retail seller.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

When we were doing our taxes I asked our accountant. He chuckled, then pointed out its the sellers responsibility to collect.

Uh....you may want to find a new accountant.


https://dor.wa.gov/find-taxes-rates/use-tax


While it is indeed a seller's responsibility to collect tax (if they have a nexus), it is the buyer's responsibility to pay it if it is not collected by the seller.

Well said.

I've been involved with state and local taxes (including sales taxes) for more than 30 years.

Some states have a line on the income tax return just to make it easier for their residents to pay. My guess that line is generally blank (and if you signed the return you have a return with an error...oops)