On-Line Sales Tax

[kootenay joe]

A sales tax issue is NOT a knife discussion but as most of us buy knives online it is of general interest.
Beginning some weeks ago every item i bought through ebay had a "sales tax" added. It is calculated on the price paid, i.e. shipping is also being taxed. I called ebay today and was told that the sales tax is being charged only to those with a Minnesota or Washington State shipping address.
This tax is 7.6% for those with a WA. State address. There was no answer to my question of why only 2 states but to help me feel better the ebay woman told me that in June 2 more states would be added (Pennsylvania & Oklahoma). She also said this tax applies to all online purchases not just ebay.
Are you aware of this ? Do you understand why it is so selectively applied ?
At first i though 7.6% is not much but in a very short time i can see that it adds up to a significant additional expense. And for me it is a double whammy. I pay 12% sales tax on the total price converted to CAN funds when i re-enter Canada after picking up knives, etc at the Northport, WA. USPS.
kj

[Sharpnshinyknives]

A sales tax issue is NOT a knife discussion but as most of us buy knives online it is of general interest.
Beginning some weeks ago every item i bought through ebay had a "sales tax" added. It is calculated on the price paid, i.e. shipping is also being taxed. I called ebay today and was told that the sales tax is being charged only to those with a Minnesota or Washington State shipping address.
This tax is 7.6% for those with a WA. State address. There was no answer to my question of why only 2 states but to help me feel better the ebay woman told me that in June 2 more states would be added (Pennsylvania & Oklahoma). She also said this tax applies to all online purchases not just ebay.
Are you aware of this ? Do you understand why it is so selectively applied ?
At first i though 7.6% is not much but in a very short time i can see that it adds up to a significant additional expense. And for me it is a double whammy. I pay 12% sales tax on the total price converted to CAN funds when i re-enter Canada after picking up knives, etc at the Northport, WA. USPS.
kj

Last year a Supreme Court decision made this possible. They ruled that states have the right to require sales tax even if the retailers don’t have a physical presence in that state. That was a game changer for states. More will be rushing to cash in on this new source of revenue.
SSk

[Shearer]

In Australia from the First of July 2018 10% GST was added to every purchase from overseas(this also includes freight) The tax is collected by ebay.
If you don't use Global Shipping the tax is collected in Australia you only get charged the 10% even though they are overseas purchases.
The only problem is when you use the Global Shipping they charge 18.5% to collect the tax.
They make out it's for tax and customs.
There is no custom charges for importing items from the USA too Australia.
Ebay gets to pocket 8.5%

Grant

[Steve Warden]

Amazon started sales taxing in New Jersey several months ago.

[kootenay joe]

There is a lot of money involved in taxing on line sales so why have only 2 States instituted this ? What holds back the remaining 48 from claiming this source of much needed revenue ?
kj

[sunknife]

There is a lot of money involved in taxing on line sales so why have only 2 States instituted this ? What holds back the remaining 48 from claiming this source of much needed revenue ?
kj

For crying outside man don't encourage them. I'm sure most will follow suit, after all the beast has to be fed.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

There is a lot of money involved in taxing on line sales so why have only 2 States instituted this ? What holds back the remaining 48 from claiming this source of much needed revenue ?
kj

So called “Blue States” are hurting for money the most, so look for them to rush this out. It won’t be long before most states, probably not all will do this. They have to get their ducks in a row first. My guess is that some states will boast that they don’t charge this tax to draw people to live in their states.
Big government can never get enough of other people’s money. They give no thought for how people change their behavior when you increase taxes. We see it in Indiana all the time. We have property tax, sales tax 7%, state income tax, local tax, and you really get hit when you put plates on your car. The newer and more valuable the car the more the excise tax on your license plates. I have clients who move their residency to Florida just to save 500 to 1000 on license plates and all the other taxes that Florida doesn’t charge. Give it time, a state like Texas will brag that they don’t charge this tax on internet purchases.
SSk

[S2K]

Washington State has no state income tax, deriving revenue from sale tax, so it makes sense they'd be in front of this. Here's the other no-IT states:

[RobesonsRme.com]

I've been paying sales tax on Amazon purchases for about a month.

I live in Alabama.

Have had no tax added on Ebay.

Charlie

[OLDE CUTLER]

Washington State has no state income tax, deriving revenue from sale tax, so it makes sense they'd be in front of this. Here's the other no-IT states:

Because we do not have a state income tax in South Dakota, our State Attorney General was one of the leaders in bringing South Dakota vs Wayfair Inc. before the Supreme Court. Every state everywhere has crumbling infrastructure to repair and replace. This is widely referred to in South Dakota as the "Amazon tax".

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

California has been trying to force the collection of online sales tax from out of state businesses for years. I've been paying tax on Amazon purchases for several years. California says that if you are a business selling in the state, then you owe sales tax, so (of course) they pass that tax along to the customers. Amazon also does have parts of their business in California (even though the HQ is in Seattle), so that also makes them subject to the "doing business in the state" rule. I have pretty much resigned myself to paying taxes on all online purchases, so when there are occasions when someone does NOT charge me sales tax, I see it as a win.

The company I work for sells to end customers nationwide. We collect sales tax in (I think) seven states. Those might be states that require us to remit taxes to them, and/or it might be states where we have employees, so we have to file state taxes there - I'm not an accountant, but I know we have had to modify some of our computer systems recently because the rules were changed.

[mrwatch]

Michigan is 6% sales tax. Tennessee is 10% when I visit my son. But his car insurance is way cheaper. We have no-fault and a catastrophic injury tax. people in Washington state used to drive over the state line to Oregon for major purchases like appliances. Esp.if you have rental property. Don't know if Oregon has taxes now. My cousin also said the Washington state did not require car insurance. But I bet the lien holders did. I remember buying something on the Chicago loop. Salesman said he could ship it to me too avoid the high Cook County tax. I took it with me.

[bestgear]

The five states that don't have a sales tax:
Alaska
Delaware
Montana
New Hampshire
Oregon
although knowing politicians and bean counters they'll find a way to separate taxes brick-and-mortar sales from online sales.