wassup with US sales tax?

[nossie]

Do I understand this correctly: If I walk into Adorama NYC they'll charge me 10% sales tax but if I order online and have them ship it to Knoxville TN they won't charge me tax. Is this correct?

 

[Saint-Brown]

yes, it's correct. it's state sales tax. If you are physically in the state buying an item you will get charged the state tax. If you are out of state buying an item from a different state you are not subject to their sales tax.

 

[jstuedle]

Yes. The purchase has to be made in one state and delivered to another that does not have a store in that state. Adorama has no store in Tennessee, so they don't collect the tax for Tennessee. Some states want you to claim the sales tax and pay it at the end of the year, but few do.

 

[nossie]

Thanks. Seems strange to me but since when was taxation ever easy to understand.

I was going to have my stewardess friend buy bits for me each time she was in NYC but they've taxed me out of that option. I'll keep up with the ol' postal relay through TN or GA instead.

 

[hyp0rbyte]

It doesn't stop there.. If in another state in the US, we can use the same method of buying online and not paying sales tax. However, we are then to pay a "use tax" to our home state. No one knows, or pays attention to this until they are audited.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_tax

 

[Snyder]

No Taxes where im at!!

 

[DeepSpring]

Yes you get to save a few dollars without the sales tax but remember that you now have to pay shipping. . . and depending on what you buy shipping can really add up.

 

[nossie]

Yes you get to save a few dollars without the sales tax but remember that you now have to pay shipping. . . and depending on what you buy shipping can really add up.

yeah I know. The shipping for my cart is 60$ atm so long as I spend over 600$ I'm up.