Just made last purchase from Amazon before they start charging 8% TX sales tax

[LCHIEN]

I just placed $130 orders with Amazon for various items before the midnight PST July 1 deadline when they'll begin charging 8% sales tax for orders to Texas.

I saved about $10 in sales tax. From here on out it will be less enticing to buy from Amazon as everything will be 8% higher.

What about you, are they charging sales tax for your state and will it affect your purchases from Amazon?

Please - no political discussions on taxation please. Note I chose my questions carefully.

[herb fellows]

Yes, they've been charging in NY for years. When it first happened, I swore I would stop buying from them, but in reality I just make the same comparisons I did before.
If another reliable place is cheaper, considering delivery and tax, I will buy from them. I don't believe in loyalty when it comes to online purchases.
Amazon said they were fighting this tooth and nail when it first happened, I haven't heard a word from then since, so I guess they just rolled over in the end.

[woodturner]

What about you, are they charging sales tax for your state and will it affect your purchases from Amazon?

No change, really, since the tax is due regardless of whether the seller collects it or not.

All states that charge sales tax require sales tax to be paid on online and mail order purchases. Vendors with a "business presence" in the state are required to collect the sales tax, but the purchaser is responsible for submitting the sales tax (sometimes called something else, such as a "use" tax) if the vendor does not collect the tax.

In other words, your tax liability remains the same, whether the vendor collects it or not.

The method by which the buyer submits the tax varies with state, but it usually is on the income tax form or is a separate form. In Texas, it's called "use tax" and is filed on a separate form.

"If you purchase merchandise through a catalog or the Internet from a seller located outside of Texas and use the taxable item in Texas, then you owe Texas use tax on the purchase. An out-of-state mail-order company or an Internet company may hold a Texas Sales and Use tax permit and collect Texas tax. If the out-of-state seller does not have a Texas permit or does not collect Texas use tax, the use tax is due and payable by the purchaser."

Texas form for consumers to pay use tax on out-of-state and online purchases

[leehljp]

Where does one go to find if they are charging sales tax for a specific state or not?

Woodturner, if and when you do internet orders, do you fill out the forms and submit the taxes for personal use items? I have always been curious of how many people do this. Second question is - Is Duty free purchases subject to State taxes in the same way? And if so, does anyone pay these?

[TB Roye]

Looks like we will be paying sale tax on purchases from Amazon here in Califonia also. The are also building 2 distribution centers in CA also. I think the tax will be on the items shipped form the distribution center in CA not the ones in Nevada or other out of state places. Here it will also depend on which County you live in or which distribution center the product comes out of. I know the Bay Area and So Cal have higher sales tax rates than Sacramento. It all comes down to politics.

[eccentrictinkerer]

If Minnesota starts requiring the sales tax it will not affect my buying from Amazon.

My dad always said that (income) taxes are dues paid to belong to the club. I think it applies to 'Net purchases, too.

It's painful to see people previewing entertainment gear at Best Buy (headquartered here in Minnesota) and then go home and order on 'Net.

Many local businesses are negatively affected by 'Net merchandisers. Major home electronics often have only a 10 or 11% gross profit so it's a tough business all around.

(Disclaimer: I'm a retired manufacturer sales manager who spent many years in the hifi business and I'm conservative.)

[LinuxRandal]

In Missouri, if they opened a distribution center here, they would be required to collect the tax no matter where it was shipped from, as they have a presence in this state. I tried to buy something once, and when they said they had a store in the state so they had to collect tax, I excitedly asked where, thinking local to my area. They told me St. Louis, so it was still cheaper to get it shipped then drive to get it, and it sucked that they weren't closer for other needs.
We also have a Use tax, and ours, like some other states, has an allowable amount that you can purchase without paying the tax. Last time I looked, it was WAY over what I spend online typically (I came within $200 one year, when someone that fished the Amazon was around).
The states don't like it, because it is tougher to enforce (expect that changes as more electronic money transactions happen and become more traceable), and collect upon, then it is to get from the seller (my understanding was internet taxation exemptions, were not to last forever anyway).

I expect that price will still be the determining factor for Loring, but doing business locally if not that much more may go up.

[woodturner]

Where does one go to find if they are charging sales tax for a specific state or not?

Generally, if sales tax is charged in the state, the buyer is responsible for paying the tax if the seller does not collect it. I just do an internet search, for example "sales tax texas online purchases".

Woodturner, if and when you do internet orders, do you fill out the forms and submit the taxes for personal use items?

Yes, I do. For me, it is an ethical issue, and I choose not to "cheat" on my taxes. A year or two ago my state added a line for it to the income tax form, so it's easier to file it now, and no longer requires filing a separate form.

I have always been curious of how many people do this.

One reason many states are adding it to the income tax form is that it requires people to either pay the tax or actively lie on their tax returns, which is a serious offense. Compliance probably varies by state, but I had heard numbers in the 50% range for my state when it was a separate form, and they say compliance improved when they added it to the income tax form.

Second question is - Is Duty free purchases subject to State taxes in the same way? And if so, does anyone pay these?

I don't know - haven't dealt with duty free purchases, sorry.

[jobole]

"It's painful to see people previewing entertainment gear at Best Buy (headquartered here in Minnesota) and then go home and order on 'Net."

Really.
I think its ironic that Best Buy is now whining about this, 20 years ago they grew on the backs of small "knowledgeable" merchants that would educate consumers only to have them price cut by the local Best Buy. Now they're on the other side.

[LCHIEN]

Looks like we will be paying sale tax on purchases from Amazon here in Califonia also. The are also building 2 distribution centers in CA also. I think the tax will be on the items shipped form the distribution center in CA not the ones in Nevada or other out of state places. Here it will also depend on which County you live in or which distribution center the product comes out of. I know the Bay Area and So Cal have higher sales tax rates than Sacramento. It all comes down to politics.

I believe the way it works is you will pay tax on all items shipped from anywhere in amazon's network of warehouses, not just products shipped from California to California.

[jackellis]

Amazon isn't collecting California sales tax yet but they soon will.

In my case, the nearest "local" merchant can be more than 40 miles away, which means I can save a lot of time and some money by ordering over the 'Net and having what I want delivered. A trip to Best Buy in Reno requires about three hours and maybe $15 worth of fuel. The sales tax in Nevada is about 3/4% lower than it is here. Just based on the cost of fuel, I have to spend $2k to break even, completely discounting the value of my time.

[eccentrictinkerer]

"It's painful to see people previewing entertainment gear at Best Buy (headquartered here in Minnesota) and then go home and order on 'Net."

Really.
I think its ironic that Best Buy is now whining about this, 20 years ago they grew on the backs of small "knowledgeable" merchants that would educate consumers only to have them price cut by the local Best Buy. Now they're on the other side.

Dick Schultz doesn't need me to defend him, but he was a high school graduate who opened a small store called Stereoland. Then he opened a second store here in Minneapolis/St. Paul, then another and another.

Dick had a good idea, Best Buy, and acted on it. That hardly makes him an enemy of small "knowledgeable" merchants.

I called on Stereoland and Best Buy, both, and found them to be honest and honorable.

BTW, Team Electronics and Schaak Electronics were both larger - and sooner - than Best Buy, but they fell by the wayside due to poor management and lack of ideas.

Capitalism is wonderful!

[TB Roye]

Once the sales tax kick in for Amazon Sale in California it will no longer make it worth my while to shop with them. Sale tax + shipping makes it to expensive. Need something to offset the money going to the state. Lower prices and free shipping might do it.

California does have a use tax you are supposed to pay and certain purchases voluntarily not many do and I never have. I just found out about a year or so ago and really don't know much about it. They get enough taxes by force why pay voulunarily?

[LCHIEN]

If Minnesota starts requiring the sales tax it will not affect my buying from Amazon.

My dad always said that (income) taxes are dues paid to belong to the club. I think it applies to 'Net purchases, too.

It's painful to see people previewing entertainment gear at Best Buy (headquartered here in Minnesota) and then go home and order on 'Net.

Many local businesses are negatively affected by 'Net merchandisers. Major home electronics often have only a 10 or 11% gross profit so it's a tough business all around.

(Disclaimer: I'm a retired manufacturer sales manager who spent many years in the hifi business and I'm conservative.)

If I spend time in a store and the sales staff knowledge helps me select a product them I buy from the store. Most of the time I can answer my own technical questions from the internet, read reviews on Amazon or other on-line reviewers and therefore I feel justified in getting lower prices on-line. I give up the "feely" part of buying, I buy a lot of stuff untouched and sight unseen except for pictures.

[TB Roye]

I pay my income tax and sale tax on things I buy at the stores here in California. If I can save money by buying some things on the net I will. Just hate to see the idiots in Ca get any more of my money than necessary. Oops that my be polictical sorry that is the way I feel.

Tom