B&H Photo releases detailed statement disputing allegations it defrauded New York out of millions in sales tax

Reference:

https://www.dpreview.com/news/...513780_dpr_nl_400_15

B&H is a reputable company... I have done business with them for years. They could operate from any where. I hope they move to Florida or Texas.

Taxes are the death knell of many Liberal states like NJ CA CT ND PA NY MA
The masses are fleeing and only the welfare state is growing.

Wow. You can’t even make that stupidity up. But having been there for 50 years, i just don’t see them moving. It would be great if they did, though.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance – the agency responsible for sales tax – is not part of this case. Why not? The tax department has audited B&H for years and has approved their tax reporting for many years.’

quote:

Originally posted by CQB60:
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance – the agency responsible for sales tax – is not part of this case. Why not? The tax department has audited B&H for years and has approved their tax reporting for many years.’

Probably because they didn't donate to the right polly-tic-ians.

NY needs the money to support our growing "undocumented" population. Printing those drivers licenses, on top of everything else, costs money.

Another example Left-Wing Commie Progressive math....It just doesn't add up!

Thank you for posting this. I've bought a few items from B&H over the years and always prefer to make my purchases with them over the phone. Very knowledgable and friendly people to deal with.

Its an absurd argument on the part of the city of New York but it might stem as an attempt to make B&H pay for its recent union negotiations.

Perhaps they will continue to move selected operations out of the state of NY.

Silent

Wow if this isn’t stupid progressive bullshit I don’t know what is. Let’s start taxing the consumer on money they didn’t spend on a product. Let’s charge tax on the suggested retail price instead of the actual purchase price of a product!

Im thinking about buying a new computer, so I should be charged tax on the "thought-sale"

This is complete lunacy by the Attorney General and nothing more than a money grab. I've purchased quite a few things through B&H over the last few things and hopefully they can fight this successfully.

Wow. Sounds like the stupidity when we first moved back to Michigan. The city tax assessor set the new assessment at a much higher figure than we purchased the house for a month previously.

We went to appeals. The chairman at the meeting said that was the value of the house based on the market analysis. I ended my presentation with the statement "Price agreed between a willing buyer and a willing seller is the value of an article, not just a arbitrary figure pulled out of who knows where."

The members looked at each other with stunned expressions and agreed with me.

If B&H receives a rebate from the manufacturer for the amount an item is on sale, why is this not considered income? They have in fact received the full retail income from the item.

I have used B&H for years, but I do think that the city has a reasonable basis for collecting the tax.

quote:

Originally posted by redleg2/9:
If B&H receives a rebate from the manufacturer for the amount an item is on sale, why is this not considered income? They have in fact received the full retail income from the item.

I have used B&H for years, but I do think that the city has a reasonable basis for collecting the tax.

I'm quite certain that B&H is picking that amount up as income in its books and one way or another, depending on how the company is organized, paying "income tax" on it. The question is whether or not the amount represents a sale at retail and subject to sales tax as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Sailor1911:
The question is whether or not the amount represents a sale at retail and subject to sales tax as well.

I don't see how that would make any sense.

quote:

Originally posted by redleg2/9:
If B&H receives a rebate from the manufacturer for the amount an item is on sale, why is this not considered income? They have in fact received the full retail income from the item.

I have used B&H for years, but I do think that the city has a reasonable basis for collecting the tax.

Given B&H has been continually audited by the state without any issues noted, I don't think your theory is valid. Again, this appears to be nothing more than a money grab with the state trying to extort a large local businesses.

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I don't see how that would make any sense.

It doesn't, but isn't that the purpose of modern government?

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If B&H receives a rebate from the manufacturer for the amount an item is on sale, why is this not considered income? They have in fact received the full retail income from the item.

Profit/Income (or loss) is the difference between what it costs and what you sell it for. The rebate doesn't impact the sale side of the equation, it impacts the cost side.

That difference is their income, which I'm sure they're paying taxes on, and is probably the same regardless of the rebate.

Say a widget has a MRSP of $1,000, and a wholesale cost of $500. Enterprising online retailer offers widget for $750, making $250.

Manufacturer comes along and offers a $150 rebate. Enterprising online retailer runs a sale on widget for $600. The widget is now a $350 expense, and at the sale price of $600 the retailer is still making the same $250 but is now selling twice as many due to the improved price.

New York needs to after car sales because you know, MSRP vs what the customer actually pays....

Reading the complaint, I am shocked a bit by the rather personal and inflammatory way that the plaintiff (New York State) talks about B&H. It seems quite unnecessary and rather unprofessional.

Other than that, this does not appear to me be a case of NY trying to screw over an honest business. This appears to be a legitimate case of tax enforcement. The law in NY appears to be that sales tax is due in cases of a manufacturer's rebate. The only issue is whether the customer has to pay it or the business, and that is determined by the factual circumstances of the rebate.

I don't know if this is a winning case for the state, but it is definitely not frivolous.

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New York needs to after car sales because you know, MSRP vs what the customer actually pays....

I went to look at NY law, and it appears that the government is correct. Sales tax is supposed to be collected on the pre-rebate sales amount. I don't deal with rebates in my line of work, so I went to take a look at what Missouri had to say about it, AND it's the same as NY.

Missouri passed a statute that excludes taxing rebates on motor vehicles, but that appears to be the only exempt category.