Sales tax out of state

[ARtraveler]

So far, so good here (ANONYMOUS AS TO WHERE--I KNOW THEY ARE WATCHING).

I have also found that most of the products that want killer shipping because of ANONYMOUS, can be found on Amazon with free shipping--and without paying the extra for Amazon Prime.

I recently purchased a D'Angelico guitar. The main people, Musicians Friend, have free shipping to lower 48 but not to ANONYMOUS. Same item purchased from a supplier with free shipping all the way from New Jersey--and at the same price as MF. I did not even have to wait the full week. It arrived UPS second day air for free. The package weighed 64#--so that was a BIG saving.

Way to go Amazon.

 

[jcthorne]

I think this would put a lot and I mean a lot of small business owners out of business simply because they do not have and can't afford the manpower it would take to administer this. At least in Texas the business owner is designated as a tax collector and mus collect the tax, keep track of it and then pay it to the state. Imagine if you had to do this for 50 states not to mention all the different counties with different tax rates. I could see this requiring a team of some size to do this.

I actually do not think it will work out that way. The payment services (paypal, and cc processors) are already gearing up to handle the out of state tax collection and payment as a part of the cc transaction. Other than end user bottom line price going up by the amount of the tax, I do not see much actually changing.

I hate to pay more tax as much as the next guy, but I do see where the end result will be more fair between internet and B&M retailers.

 

[UtahPete]

http://theweek.com/articles/780427/...fternoon&utm_medium=06_22_18-article_8-780427

Today, almost 10 percent of all retail is conducted online, potentially falling into the conceptual lacuna of the "physical presence" standard.

The total number of taxing jurisdictions has exploded from 2,300 in 1967 to 12,000 today, 45 states have sales taxes of some sort, and thousands of local governments do as well.

No one knows how much tax revenue is collectively lost from internet sales every year, but estimates range from $8 billion annually to as much as $40 billion.

State governments in particular are feeling the pressure, as more and more of their budgets are eaten up by health care and education costs, forcing cuts to other necessary services — a conundrum that could be alleviated by the extra sales tax revenue.

 

[Fat Baxter]

I am sure there will be simple software which all a merchant has to do is enter the zip code of the buyer and the tax will be calculated immediately. Keeping track of the actual counties where the tax goes could be problematic but I am sure some wiz kid will make that easy too.

Joe T.

I was reading something about this earlier. It's not so simple. Some states require you to register with them as a tax collection agency (more paperwork!). Some require quarterly reports, even if you didn't have any sales in that state for that quarter. Other require you get a permit/license (money, time). The list of minor nuisances is, in the aggregate, not insignificant. Oh, and audits!

So unless Congress gets off its ass* and establishes some threshholds that exempt smaller businesses, we may expect to see the collapse of many internet businesses.


* = Doubtful, as Congress only gets involved if there are opportunities for more power and/or graft.

Updated: I found the link to that article: https://www.americanthinker.com/blo...upt_thousands_of_small_online_businesses.html

 

[canamjhb]

Bought my Spyder on line and out of state. Arid-Zone-A had their hand out for the tax when it came time for me to title it. There is no escape.

 

[RinconRyder]

Bought my Spyder on line and out of state. Arid-Zone-A had their hand out for the tax when it came time for me to title it. There is no escape.

AZ is not much different than most other states and motor vehicles are a different breed as well.

If you had bought your Spyder from an individual (not having a resale license) you would not have paid any sales tax to AZ. Likewise, if you bought your Spyder from an out of state dealer and paid that state's sales tax you would not have paid AZ sales tax. Because most motor vehicles have to be registered the states knows when you have made a purchase and will try to collect any taxes due on the sale.

Also, and I don't know when this changed, but now in AZ the sales tax is figured by the rate established at your home address and not the location where you bought your vehicle. This change was made in AZ because the auto malls were sucking the various cities dry as far as motor vehicle sales taxes.

 

[blitzkreig]

The total number of taxing jurisdictions has exploded from 2,300 in 1967 to 12,000 today, 45 states have sales taxes of some sort, and thousands of local governments do as well.

Yes I heard the number was in excess of 10,000 different tax jurisdictions in the USA.
It is going to mean the death of the freewheeling small entrepreneur who just sells stuff and ships it.

 

[Fat Baxter]

Here's another article that highlights the bureaucratic complexity this has created (hint: it ain't pretty):

http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2018/06/the-sales-tax-problem-for-small-businesses.html

 

[UtahPete]

Here's another article that highlights the bureaucratic complexity this has created (hint: it ain't pretty):

http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2018/06/the-sales-tax-problem-for-small-businesses.html

Excellent resource. Thanks.