Posted: 3/13/2003 9:24:51 PM EDT
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Nobody has ever charged me sales tax for mail/internet order in another state. Is there a law or anything that says they can't? Or does the government for some strange reason look the other way while it loses money? My wife signed up for a BAR review class. Tuition and book fees were send to AZ. Received a letter back saying they were now charging sales tax on the books/materials portion. They were kind enough to waive the late fee for not having [i]all[/i] of the funds in on time. Any attorneys out there that can provide me some info? If possible, I'd like to not pay these people another $75 on top of the $1750 already paid. (It's seriously cutting into my ammo and new rifle fund.) |
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My understanding is that they can charge sales tax but don't have to. They risk losing business to those companies who do not charge taxes. Of course if its within the same state, its just like going to the store. The big draw to the internet is that you don't have to pay taxes, competition is very existant, and the obvious convenience of shopping. |
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There's supposed to be a federal moratorium on internet sales tax, but some companies are collecting it 'voluntarily' to appease state agencies out to get more money... Technically there is a 'use tax' on the books in most states, but no one pays it, and the state doesn't (in many cases can't) enforce it... |
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If they have a nexus (i.e. business presence) in the state they are shipping the material to they [b]must[/b] collect the sales tax. They are otherwise not required but they MAY collect the appropriate tax for your state if they choose to do so. The states have laws on the books that if you aren't charged sales tax you must pay to your state the identical amount as a use tax. The laws are widely ignored but are occasionally enforced if a large amount is involved, and they include brick-and-mortar purchases, not just via mail order/internet. |
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