My only vice....

[Bet51987]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23351894/

I buy tons of books, music, and other items from Amazon but if they collect taxes I will shop somewhere else. This is my only vice and I want to keep it.

Bee

[Grendel]

Welcome to the real world

I wouldn't worry too much tho (unless you want to be a law abiding citizen..)

\"No state tax authority (can absorb) to the administrative expense of processing (sales) tax returns filed by someone who placed a $50 order with an out-of-state merchant,” says Pete Sepp, vice president for policy and communications with the National Taxpayers Union in Alexandria, Va., explaining the conundrum for the states. After all, that would net the state maybe $2.50, an amount unlikely to offset the expense of processing the form. Nor does that amount offset the expense of pursuing payment from a shopper who failed to file such a form.

If all fails, buy used books.

[grizz]

I rarely buy books anymore. I decided the library has much more space than I do.

We are now working on thinning out the 1/2 a dozen or so full length bookshelves full of books we have.

[Testiculese]

If they enact this, I will not buy online again. I will go back to driving 7 miles to Delaware and buy it there.

[CDN_Merlin]

We have no tax on school books but as fas as I know, every other book is taxed. Not sure about buying online because I don't buy online.

[Foil]

I've never bought a book online, but I've gotten dozens from bookstores and library sales.

Library book sales are simply awesome.

[Bet51987]

The only problem I found with library book sales is that it always involves older books. The science of cosmology, for example, is changing at a fast rate and I'm not interested in past articles.

I just hope Amazon doesn't fold.

EDIT: Grendel, I thing they're trying to change that rule so everthing is taxable.

Bettina

[Topher]

I live in Washington which means I pay tax at Amazon anyway. I usually check Overstock as well which doesn't charge tax in WA

[fliptw]

I wonder if someone would challenge this under interstate commerce clause.

[Grendel]

EDIT: Grendel, I thing they're trying to change that rule so everthing is taxable.

My understanding of the article was that they are trying to enforce existing laws.

In other words, taxpayers are legally obligated to report the amount of any sales tax they did not pay on either their annual state income tax forms or by filing a separate "use tax" form. (Use tax is what states call the sales tax when it is not collected by the retailer.)
[..]
"Sales taxes (on Internet purchases) are not new taxes," stresses Scott Peterson, executive director of the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc. located in Nashville, Tenn. The Board’s members consist of the state revenue departments looking to collect their due from shoppers by making it mandatory for retailers — local or remote — to collect the appropriate sales tax from each customer.
[..]
States cannot legally require out-of-state retailers to act as their collectors. They can only pressure them to do so.

[roid]

...I'm not interested in past articles.

i'm with you there. in the subjects i read, i'm finding myself glazing over more and more when i read anything older than 5 years, lately - 2 years!

[Sergeant Thorne]

What are your state's laws concerning \"Use Tax\", Bettina?

Use tax is something I've learned about, semi-recently, and started paying, for out-of-state purchases (cut the state a large check in filing my 2007 state taxes). Apparently (at least in Indiana), no purchase is tax free.

The way it works:
-In-state purchases - 7% sales tax (changed from 6% on April 1st)

-Out-of-state purchases, whether in-person, by mail, or over the internet - 7% use tax if no sales tax is collected, none if 7% or greater is collected, and the difference if less than 7% is collected (5% sales tax, and so 2% use tax, for example).

This applies to items that are for storage, use, or consumption in Indiana (there are a few exceptions, including services).

This took everyone I know by surprise, but I did some research and found it to be inescapably clear. The people I've talked to thought you just didn't pay tax on out-of-state purchases.

[Bet51987]

What are your state's laws concerning "Use Tax", Bettina?

I have to pay even if I don't use it.

My "use tax" is like yours. If I buy out of state it becomes a "use tax" and must be declared. Locally it becomes a sales tax and collected normally.

Even if I buy something on the internet and have it shipped to another state as a gift for someone, I still have to pay the "use tax". That part annoys me.

So far, I only shop online at tax free sites.

Bee

[Sergeant Thorne]

Sounds the same, but what do you mean by \"tax free sites?\" What's the difference between a site that charges sales tax and a site that causes you to owe use tax (unless the sales tax is more than that of your state)?

[Spidey]

OMG Thorne, does that mean you have to declare all your out of state purchases to the state for tax purposes?

[Sergeant Thorne]

I'm not totally sure yet, Spidey. I believe the use tax can be dealt with on either a monthly basis, or at the end of the fiscal year with the state tax returns. I've seen the monthly use tax form, and it does ask for information on purchases, but I'm really not sure whether it's a requirement. What I do know is that when you are charged sales tax in another state, and that sales tax is less than Indiana's, rather than being handled as that much less use tax you owe, it's worded such that it seems to be considered that you still owe the same, but put in for a break or credit that reduces the amount. And I believe that calls for some details.

I don't like the idea, personally. I'm not interested in declaring what I buy, and as of right now I have no intention of doing so. For 2007 I just totaled up what I owed (to the best of my ability, since my records were not detailed enough in many cases), entered the total, and sent a check. This year my records are going to reflect the need for a few more figures, in regard to sales tax.

Kinda hurts, in a way, but I think it's right to recognize it as a tax that has been there, and I just haven't known enough to pay, rather than an annoying new tax. If it's not right, then it ought to be changed, but as long as it's there, as a law-abiding citizen I'm going to pay it. I say that because most people I've mentioned it to have been less than receptive, and one even said he didn't want to hear about it.

But all of this is still a little new to me, and I'm kind of on my own.

[Foil]

From what I recall, most of the online retailers I've used recently have included the Colorado state sales tax in the total, so I think I'm okay on that front.

However, it was somewhat disconcerting to see the tax form asking me to declare my purchases. And not only the privacy issue; it doesn't seem quite right to ask me to calculate and send in the sales tax, rather than the retailer.

[Spidey]

Agreed, Sales Tax must be collected at the POS as far as I’m concerned.

[Grendel]

So far, I only shop online at tax free sites.

So is the implication that you don't post your amazon purchases via "use tax" forms then ? You are breaking the law in that case. Kinda funny -- your vice is illegal..

[Bet51987]

So far, I only shop online at tax free sites.

So is the implication that you don't post your amazon purchases via "use tax" forms then ? You are breaking the law in that case. Kinda funny -- your vice is illegal..

I have no comment.

Bee