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Sales Tax [US]

post #1 of 9
5/9/06 at 4:52am
Thread Starter 
Quick question for US members about sales tax.

Do you only pay sales tax if you are based in the same state as the vendor?

Example (is this correct?):

I am based in CA and buy something from NY then I dont pay sales tax. If I buy something from CA then I will.

Any info will be appreciated
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post #2 of 9
5/9/06 at 5:16am
basically...
Quote:
If an online retailer has a physical presence in a particular state, such as business offices or a warehouse, it must collect sales tax from customers in that state. If a business does not have a physical presence in a state, it is not required to collect sales tax for sales from customers in that state.

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/obje...1/277/167/ART/
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post #3 of 9
5/9/06 at 5:26am
Thread Starter 
Thanks L!

So, when you buy something on the internet from the same state do they add the tax on when you fill in your details in your shopping basket normally?
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post #4 of 9
5/9/06 at 5:37am
np! and yes, they do add the tax on in the way you described.
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post #5 of 9
5/9/06 at 5:41am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by liquid

np! and yes, they do add the tax on in the way you described.

So is it common practice to buy from non-local vendors to save paying this?

(sorry for all the q's! )
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post #6 of 9
5/9/06 at 5:52am
^
i've never bothered to do that grant. it seems like there's almost never sales tax on the stuff i buy online. i suppose there being 50 states, the chances are pretty good that the store is not in whatever state you are in. maybe if i was buying a really big ticket item online then i might want to shop around with state in mind.
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post #7 of 9
5/9/06 at 5:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by liquid

^
i've never bothered to do that grant. it seems like there's almost never sales tax on the stuff i buy online. i suppose there being 50 states, the chances are pretty good that the store is not in whatever state you are in. maybe if i was buying a really big ticket item online then i might want to shop around with state in mind.


Thanks again. When I'm rich I'll pay you a consulting fee. In the meantime, have a smilie!

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post #8 of 9
5/9/06 at 6:01am
Sometimes big chain stores have stores or little kiosks in your state and the company will charge you tax as well (even if the item is shipped from another location). This happened to me when I was buying my digital camera last summer. I opted to ship it to my cousin in a different state to avoid the extra tax.
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post #9 of 9
5/9/06 at 7:58am
Yeah, Ive never heard of people intentionally buying out of state to avoid sales tax (Except for on big big purchases. Here in Massachusetts a.k.a. Taxachusetts, people commonly do their heavy shopping up in tax free New Hampshire, state motto: "Live Free or Die&quot. I think for us Americans, who pay typically a single digit percent of the price in tax, its not so big an issue as the UK's VAT, or Scandanavia's "we-repossess-your-car-as-collateral-for-these-Levi's" fiscal policy.
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