OT Amazon to begin charging state sales tax

[G. Morgan]

And to save gas, time, and now that its holiday season..FRUSTRATION, ANXIETY, and RAGE. I do not go anywhere near a mall or big-box electronics joint this time of year. Hate it.

The 'Internets' and all the wonderful online stores have changed the way I shop. Now when I need something I can research the hell out of different TV's for example. Old way is going to a B&M store and selecting from a very limited inventory. I can spec. a TV, find the best price, and have it delivered to my door for free. Does Best Buy or Wally-World deliver for free? Nope. I don't need to transport that huge box and make sure the load is tied down. I don't have to handle the cumbersome and heavy box until it arrives at my front doorstep.

At the end of the day, I got the *exact* TV I wanted because I didn't have to pick from a limited inventory. I wasn't pressured by some sleazy salesman that smells like garlic. I didn't 'settle' for what they had, vs. what I really wanted. There were no crying babies and cranked-up gangster rap playing on demo units. No fighting for a parking space down the south 40, in the rain. No thank you, I do all my shopping online now. Oh, did I mention its much cheaper this way too?

[HeyBub]

Even if a retailer COULD do it (which I doubt), there's still the question of whether he SHOULD, or, more specifically, whether a law should force him to do so.

The brick and mortar stores agitating for a nation-wide law overlook one thing: Their state will get more money and the state will use that money to increase their meddling with the populace in general and the small retailer in particular.

[krw]

too.- Hide quoted text -

Then why do you answer? Got your goat?

[Robert Neville]

Close, but not exactly. VAT is charged against every transaction, but you get credited for the VAT you paid. Let's say VAT is 10% and you buy $10 worth of material. As a manufacturer you pay a total of $11. You sold it for $20, but collected $22.00. You get to deduct the $1 VAT you paid from the $2.00 you collected and remit $1.00 to the state.

$1 - Sounds like the state is getting less compared to straight sales tax? But you forgot about the $1 paid as a part of the materials. The state collects $2 total, which is a complicated way of collecting the same amount of revenue. Instead of just the retailer having to keep track of taxes, everyone along the chain has to keep track.

States like VAT because they can collect the tax in increments instead of waiting until the final sale. It also makes the "tax loss" from companies that go out of business without paying their final tax bill smaller since they only lose the tax on the last stage of the chain. And of course if the product is sold at a loss, too bad, so sad, no VAT refund.

Another benefit from the state's perspective is that it creates a huge paper trail that can be audited. Every intermediate buyer along the way is going to want a legitimate receipt showing the VAT they paid so they can deduct it from the amount they are collecting. No more cash discounts, no more tax free transactions.

Like almost every tax, politicians get it passed by starting at a low rate and promising it won't increase. Once it's there, look out. In Europe, it started at around 8% in the 50s, but now is 25% in some countries. And of course that's on top of income that's already been taxed.

Yep. That's the classic Use Tax scenario. Use tax makes some sense in a business environment because the transactions amounts are typically much higher, there's far less businesses than individuals and businesses get audited far more often than individuals.

[HeyBub]

It's not luck - it's competition. There's a Stop 'N Rob on every street corner. If you ABSOLUTELY MUST have a box of corn flakes in the next twenty minutes, paying $6.00 for the box is of secondary importance.

[G. Morgan]

And the $46.50 difference in the price, knucklehead!

[krw]

...and they'll peek under your knickers, if need be. I know, I lived there for almost 20 years.

Done.

You (NY media) get a very different story than the rest of the country.

[krw]

It won't happen. No incentive.

[langwadt]

nothing wrong with buying online, my point was that just because the headquarters of the online shop is in a state with no sales tax they shouldn't be exempt

several shops here have both a regular shop and an online shop, you can shop online and have it shipped or you can go pick it up at the store some even have drive-in

-Lasse

[Jim Elbrecht]

I collected for NY from 76 to 84 or so. I never got squat for the paperwork.

The way the tax tables were set up it might cost me a few cents to have the pleasure of serving my state & counties.

Jim

[Han]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Town had to let go police officers, cut library hours, and a whole lot more because of Christie. Both daughter and son are high school teachers. But we have already gone over the problem whether good teachers are under- or overpaid.

[Han]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

We'll see ...

[Michael A. Terrell]

I 'managed' to get the cable my dad needed faster, and the length I needed to move a TV away from a doorway where either he or my step mother would have run into it and hurt themselves. I don't owe the local merchant anything. They are very lazy about marking prices, expecting you to take it to the register to find out the costs. I did pay sales tax on the cable I bought, since it was shipped to me from within in state.

[Michael A. Terrell]

Or go to Dollar Tree and get it for $1. I just bought five bags there. I recently bought six cases of Progresso soup there. Winn-Dixie wants $2.59 a can. That was a savings of $114.48 on 72 cans. The two stores are only a couple hundred feet apart.

[Michael A. Terrell]

Less the $.15 Florida & county sales tax.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I'm not sure how that relates to Christie. Do you get state funding for that stuff? Our town police are paid by the town taxes. The governor has nothing to do with it. Want more cops? Raise more taxes.

Here's a good one. . . . The other day I was mistakenly sent an email from a nearby town library director. Must have been a typo to a similar address. The gist of it was, they want to spend $5000 to have the author of a gardening book come and give a talk. This is a town with a population of about 5000 people. She was soliciting comments. She also stated they may be getting a grant for about 10K and would use half that money.

Of course, I took the opportunity to give my opinion. In this economy, can a small town library afford to spend that much on one author? I thought it was fiscal irresponsibility to do so. Maybe $500 would be OK.

There is also an author that is willing to come for free. Now, let me think about this, free or $5000/ what to do?

[Ed Pawlowski]

We know it can be done because some sellers are already doing it. Not a big deal.

It is really one big ethics question. If buyers paid the use tax due, it would not be an issue. Is it fair that you have to pay more in taxes because your neighbor buys over the internet and pays none?

If you walked into a store and there was a $5 bill on the counter, would you take it? Is that stealing?

If you walk into the Dept of Revenue and there was a $5 bill on the counter at the window, would you take it? It that stealing?

If you buy a $100 gizmo over the internet and pay no tax, is that stealing? And everyone takes it. Most pat themselves on the back because they are so smart to evade the tax.

Choose the conclusion:

1. morals are variable with the situation
2. morals do not apply to the government
3. morals do not apply if I can save a few bucks
4. morals define my character and are always upheld

[Michael A. Terrell]

You don't like green wire? :)

[G. Morgan]

Its not a moral issue, dippy. I would probably continue to buy online if I had to pay sales tax. Careful throwing words like "tax-evasion" around. It is not a crime to shop online. It is a felony to actually commit "tax-evasion", so let's not use that term.

1. Shopping online is convenient, safe, and costs less. Morals don't enter the into the equation at any point in the buying process.

And I will add: if I were offered a choice to *voluntarily* pay sales tax, I'd decline! (so would you, Mr. Morals)

[Ed Pawlowski]

So, calling me names makes you right? You have a legal obligation to pay a "use tax". If you are not paying it, you are evading it. Don't take my word for it, check with your lawyer or the state Attorney General

Why don't you want to use that term? It may be a felony, but if you are not paying the use tax, you are committing a crime. I see, should I put you down for the "variable morals" answer?