ugh, just realized KEH is based in Atlanta

[fjrabon]

Had all sorts of goodies lined up in my sights. Cart was loaded, entered in all the payment info, and bam, a $100 tax bill for same state delivery. Sigh. I guess back to ebay.

 

[Ballistics]

Had all sorts of goodies lined up in my sights. Cart was loaded, entered in all the payment info, and bam, a $100 tax bill for same state delivery. Sigh. I guess back to ebay.

Damn, all used stuff?

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Wait. What? If you live in Atlanta, can't you just visit them? and why on earth would there be taxes for delivery?

 

[Tony S]

In state sales tax, gotta buy from out of state online to avoid that..... for now, but that will change in the near future the way things are going.

 

[mjhoward]

um why not B&H or Adorama then? They both have used sections as well if that's what you're after.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

But if you live in Atlanta, why not drive, or hop a bus to visit them? I know Atlanta's big, but it's not THAT big....



..I might be way off, but it seems retarded to order product online from a place that's in your own city.

 

[ann]

Because KEH is not a retail style store, they basically do all on line business.

 

[amolitor]

Just as an aside, just because you order from out of state does not mean that you don't owe tax. I don't know about Georgia, to be sure, but the last two states I have lived in required me to report out of state purchases and pay appropriate tax on my income tax form. There didn't seem to be any way for them to enforce this, but it was evidently the law.

 

[Infinite_Day]

For those asking why not just visit them: the entire point was the OP didn't want to pay the $100 sales tax. Even if he could go to the KEH store he'd still have to pay the sales tax. I figure Tony S is right - we'll all be paying tax for on-line purchases soon. It will likely be a boon for local shops, however, because people will probably just buy local again to avoid shipping charges. May the local camera shop will make a return if that becomes reality.

 

[Dao]

Just as an aside, just because you order from out of state does not mean that you don't owe tax. I don't know about Georgia, to be sure, but the last two states I have lived in required me to report out of state purchases and pay appropriate tax on my income tax form. There didn't seem to be any way for them to enforce this, but it was evidently the law.

Yes, I believe most of the state has state sales tax and some have city sales tax. Legally the person or company do need to pay the tax (or at least use tax)

And I do agree that it is hard to enforce and that is why they usually go after business purchases for use tax. So if you are buying them for your business, it maybe better to pay the tax unless you believe IRS persons will never show up and stay in your company for at least one week asking you to provide all the material they need for the past x years.

And if they find you or your company do owe the taxes by mistake such as miss few items once in awhile or by errors, they will ask you or your company to pay them back plus interest.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Oh, I trust everyone is honest about their taxes when they buy online and file at the end of the year - just sayn'

 

[usayit]

Yup... just because you buy something out of state doesn't mean its tax free. You are suppose to report and claim tax on your federal return.

IMO, the whole out-of-state purchase taxation is a major F'd up that the federal system needs to correct. It kills the local businesses' ability to compete, even the ones willing to match online prices.

 

[fjrabon]

KEH had slightly better prices than adorama or B&H for the things I was looking for. It wasn't the biggest deal in the world, but it was kind of annoying to spend like 2.5 hours shopping on KEH, then to just have to turn around and try to put together the same basket at a combo of B&H and Adorama.

In GA, B2B out of state purchases are required to pay taxes, but in state purchases by regular consumers aren't for most consumer items. This wouldn't be the IRS, because sales tax is a state tax, not a federal tax. The issue becomes which state the transaction is occurring in. Is it occurring in the state that the end buyer is located or the state where the seller is located? Traditionally the sale was said to have been completed upon delivery, and thus the location would be where the buyer was located. However, state tax agencies, with their tiny budgets had no real way to collect this tax. And in fact were discouraged to try in most cases, sense the enforcement was often ruled to be arbitrary and punitive. ie citizens had a legitimate complaint of 'why me?' if the state targeted them while letting thousands of others go free. Most courts will strike down arbitrary enforcement of laws that are 'technically on the books'.

The problems governments are running into is that while they could probably get away with changing the laws, they'd almost certainly have to collect them from the businesses, because requiring individuals to file these taxes is a NIGHTMARE and would cause outrage amongst the citizenry. But then you're to the problem of doing one of 2 things: either you A) charge your businesses located in your state for shipments going outside (essentially defining the sale as the place purchased) or B) charge taxes on businesses not in your state

A has issues because it would likely just run online retailers to states without sales tax, like Delaware and Tennessee. These businesses often provide a lot of jobs to the local economies, so you'd be kicking out employers who do pay lots of other forms of taxes in your state. B has issues with jurisdiction and free interstate commerce as required by the constitution. Because the businesses aren't located in the state attempting to collect, they have no legal recourse, and the constitution prohibits tariffs or barring the sale and shipment of items from other states, so the local governments can't enforce the taxation that way either. Its why there has been a lot of talk about enforcing sales tax on online purchases for a long time, but many legal scholars doubt that it will ever actually be put in place, or that if it is, that it will last very long.

If you went after the individuals, the first wave of prosecution of individuals for not paying online taxes would cause a wave of political pressure to do away with the laws entirely. If you go after the businesses, you'll either lose all your online retailers to other states or have your laws SCOTUS slapped down.

 

[fjrabon]

You are suppose to report and claim tax on your federal return.

Since when is sales tax a federal tax?

 

[TheFantasticG]

IMO, the whole out-of-state purchase taxation is a major F'd up that the federal system needs to correct. It kills the local businesses' ability to compete, even the ones willing to match online prices.

Wouldn't make me stop buying online. It is 1000% more convenient and easier to compare prices & shop online than in person. It also saves the cost of fuel and time. If I had kids that would cement my choice to shop online even more.

And I'll agree to pay those taxes when they close the loop holes for multi-billion/million doallar corporations. Oh, and farming subsidies and tax breaks... And tax breaks for green energy producers... And the list could go on.