Internet Sales Tax

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Eye-level

Banned
That other thread is driving me crazy...LOL

How will the internet sales tax affect you if it passes? Do you support it? Does your state have sales tax?

Seems like everybody is trying to squeeze a little juice out of the cloud...

I guess Arpanet would have never came to be if people wouldn't have paid their taxes.

:)
 
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MrF

Senior Member
It was only a matter of time I suppose, especially with money being tight for a lot of governments right now. VA has a 4% state sales tax and a 1% local sales tax, not great, but better than when I lived in CA. I'd already been paying sales tax on my amazon purchases in CA since they opened a warehouse there last summer. Technically, you're supposed to total purchases on which you didn't pay sales tax when you file you're state tax return but I don't think many people actually do.

I don't necessarily mind it too much. It represents a lot of lost revenue to state and local governments.
 
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Eye-level

Banned
What about VAT? Do you think we'll ever see a VAT deal to help shore up the USPS which is in trouble financially right now but it is a given that it is a service that can make money if managed right because we like to have mail. Well except for bills and credit card statements.
 
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Eye-level

Banned
My local sales tax is 9.75%

I spend a significant amount of money over the net.

​Now I am going to have to pay a little bit more for it I guess. :(
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
I doubt it'll pass, too much opposition (at least I hope). I do a lot of traveling in Mexico and I really like the way they do their taxes. Everything is taxed before it's sold so that the buyer never sees added tax and the seller does not have to send that tax in, they've already got it. I have no clue how the logistics of running sales tax in this fashion would work but it seems like it would save everyone a lot of hassle....maybe.
 
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MrF

Senior Member
Eye-level said:
What about VAT? Do you think we'll ever see a VAT deal to help shore up the USPS which is in trouble financially right now but it is a given that it is a service that can make money if managed right because we like to have mail. Well except for bills and credit card statements.
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Do you mean a VAT on USPS services, or a VAT on consumer goods to support the USPS? I think there would be more backlash against that. I feel like the internet tax is easier to swallow since we technically should be paying it anyway. I was kind of surprised that Amazon is on board with it though. The article I read estimated that upwards of $23 billion in uncollected revenue across all 50 states. That's a pretty good chunk of change that can help with things like paving crappy roads.

As for the USPS, I think they could be more aggressive with the postage increases. I would still consider it a bargain to pay 75 cents or a dollar for a piece of first class mail. They'd still have to offer some kind of a break for folks doing bulk mailing, but for the average person it wouldn't be that much of a burden.

Eye-level said:
My local sales tax is 9.75%

I spend a significant amount of money over the net.

​Now I am going to have to pay a little bit more for it I guess. :(
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Wow. I thought I had it bad in CA with 8%.
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
San Diego property tax rate is 1% but because of Prop 13 it will always be based upon the price of your home's purchase price. So if you bought 30 yrs ago for $20k and your house is now worth $800k you're still paying a tax rate of 1% on a $20k home.
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Dave_W said:
San Diego property tax rate is 1% but because of Prop 13 it will always be based upon the price of your home's purchase price. So if you bought 30 yrs ago for $20k and your house is now worth $800k you're still paying a tax rate of 1% on a $20k home.
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Well if you bought it 20 years ago for $20 then $200 a year is not to bad. $8,000 a year is a different story. A nice home here a say 2,000 sq feet with a 1/2 acre yard new is around $175,000. We have a nice home but not new and it would go for about $150,000 and we have very large yard. Our taxes are about $250 a year.
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Value Added Tax... grrrrr! I hate all these taxes buried in things and the sheeple continue to pay them unknowingly. If I had my magic wand everyone would have to write that check to the government at the end of the year. Once they saw how much is actually going OUT of their pocket people would be motivated to pay attention.

I teach the U.S. Constitution and I find it so incredibly painful to watch people giving up so much to the government, the monster that is government growing out of control, and there seems to be little the people won't give up and that the government won't gobble up.

Prophetic and very deep commentary on both government and the people.
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[h=1][FONT=georgia, serif]“I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such: because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no [/FONT]Form[FONT=georgia, serif] of Government but what may be a Blessing to the People if well-[/FONT][FONT=georgia, serif]administered[/FONT][FONT=georgia, serif]; and I believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a Course of Years and can only end in Despotism as other Forms have done before it, when the People shall become so corrupted as to need Despotic Government, being incapable of any other.” Ben Franklin[/FONT][/h]
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
Tracsoft - Don Kuykendall said:
Well if you bought it 20 years ago for $20 then $200 a year is not to bad. $8,000 a year is a different story. A nice home here a say 2,000 sq feet with a 1/2 acre yard new is around $175,000. We have a nice home but not new and it would go for about $150,000 and we have very large yard. Our taxes are about $250 a year.
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You couldn't buy a shack without a roof here for $175. The average family home runs $475 and that's averaged across the whole of SD. If you wanted to live in a decent part of town add at least another $150 to $200k on top of that number. We call it our "sunshine" tax. That said, San Diego has the mildest weather of any place in the entire US. It really is a great place to live *if* you can afford it.
 
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Eye-level

Banned
I buy virtually all of my photography stuff and many other hobby type things and tools etc off of the net. This will affect how I do business. I probably won't buy that $500 lens now because after I pay an extra $50 to Sam and pay buyer's fees on Ebay say Add 15 bucks shipping and naw maybe I don't need that lens. I bet a lot of people will start going to places like Craigslist and kiiji or whatever it is. The problem with that is what if that "special" lens you are looking for is not listed?
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
We have no sales tax here in Alberta. There is, however, a federal GST tax (Goods & Services Tax) of 5%. An average home here costs about $350,000 Cdn., which is about par with the U.S. dollar right now. My property taxes are around $1200 a year. I bought my house for $66,600 back in 1982, and apparently it's now valued at $375,000, and it's only a bungalow @ 1045 sq. ft. My lot is 45' x 100'.
 
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Eye-level

Banned
Dang Jack that is a lot of money for a 1K square foot house and small lot. You could sell that move to Belize and live like a king I bet!
 
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§am

Senior Member
In the UK we have 20% VAT on just about most things, and it's included in the price you see when you purchase something.
Most online retailers here will also show you a non VAT price as well, but it's still added so essentially what you see is what you pay.

I know on trips to the states I've often looked at things and thought, ooh that's a nice price, then you get to the till, and they whack on whatever the local tax is (8% in Houston/Texas?).

Back to the UK - VAT really does make it very hard for things to be had cheap here, coupled with Customs and Excise Duty too, importing something can be costly as well :(
 
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piperbarb

Senior Member
New York state has a 4% state sales tax, then each county has it's own. Broome County, where I live has a 4% sales tax. They upped it to 4.5% for a while then dropped it back down to 4%. I find it interesting that some states that tout low property taxes have higher sales tax then New York does.

As for the Internet tax. It was inevitable. As some have said, supposedly we are supposed to pay the sales tax when we do our taxes. My question is, have you ever known someone who does?
 
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Eye-level

Banned
Oklahoma low property taxes...talk about doing away with the state income tax...9.75% sales tax...

Schools ranked 49th in the nation and the most absolutely horrible roads and bridges in the entire world.

Average 3 bedroom home new construction around 175K.

​Sounds like an attractive place to live huh? Economically speaking and education, health, and infrastructure...not!
 
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MrF

Senior Member
§am said:
In the UK we have 20% VAT on just about most things, and it's included in the price you see when you purchase something.
Most online retailers here will also show you a non VAT price as well, but it's still added so essentially what you see is what you pay.

I know on trips to the states I've often looked at things and thought, ooh that's a nice price, then you get to the till, and they whack on whatever the local tax is (8% in Houston/Texas?).

Back to the UK - VAT really does make it very hard for things to be had cheap here, coupled with Customs and Excise Duty too, importing something can be costly as well :(
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Texas doesn't have a state income tax, so for people who actually live there the high sales tax isn't as big of a hit.

This will just involve a little more math when shopping. There will likely still be cases where something on Amazon or Adorama, even after taxes, will be cheaper than in a brick and mortar store. Probably not much cheaper though. I think there's also a cutoff. If a business does grosses less than a certain amount in a state, they're exempt from having to collect tax. Might just be time to find some small midwest retailers to order from then. :D
 
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