vonzip Loc: cape cod

As has been previously mentioned, I have no problem paying sales tax but would like a larger say in how this money is being spent. Our elected officials seem to drop the ball once in office. vz

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

LOL, that's a real knee-slapper!

Your answer lies in the b****t box! Good luck with that!

BudsOwl Loc: Upstate NY and New England

Andy, when we pass through your state on our way to and from Maine we stop stop at the state liquor store on route 9 just over the border from Vermont to replenish our supply of Black Velvet and to use their clean restrooms. We used to get gasoline in New Hampshire before heading back through Vermont but on our last trip we found the gas in east Brattleboro about 6 cents per gallon cheaper. Going towards Maine we always gas up in Stratham. As far as your roads are concerned the stretch of route 9 from Vermont to Keene is in fairly good shape and the stretch of 101 from Manchester east to exit 11 is in great shape.
Bud

SportQue

My My My... What a robust conversation I seem to have started... Let's see how else can I stir the pot?
Trump or Biden? Border Wall? China tariffs? ( it's a joke ya all)... Since I've posted this I've been called a tax evader and c***ter.. unbelievable.. to clarify what started this, I've been looking for a "coveted" Sony FE 24mm 1.4 lens that no one that I can find has in stock. They are constantly of back order so I contacted B&H and they were the only ones that had some coming in this month so I gave them a CC# ignorant of the fact that they now charge sales tax and they sent me an invoice that included sales tax. I had never had to deal with that before and was very surprised, so I cancelled the order because I didn't want another CC. As I'm finding out that now is the norm. I was simply trying to put a feeler out there that perhaps by chance some dealer that someone might have dealt with in some state is in an area where the sales tax situation doesn't apply... I usually buy on ebay where as yet I have never had to pay sales tax. I'll stick with ebay. Is that evasion? I think not. The only problem is the lens I'm looking for, sellers want more than the sales tax (law of supply and demand)... guess I'll have to go with a Sigma, lesson learned. I was only looking for an above board way to not pay sales tax... thank you for all your responses.

BebuLamar

OK buy from your reputable EBAY seller. You are required to pay state sales tax regardless whether the online retailer collect it or not. If you think sales tax is not fair then protest to the state. I absolutely see
that it's not fair if you pay sales tax when you shop at a local store but not when you buy online.

SportQue

Point taken

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

That has been the case in Ct since around 1949 or so. Called a Use Tax I think.

pendennis

How does B&H get this tax information? They have to have tables to collect, then verify the sales/use tax amounts.

There are over 10,000 municipalities, townships, counties, and states combined, which levy sales and use taxes in some form or fashion. When Podunk, Kansas decides to go after B&H and dozens of other reailers for its 7% (or wh**ever) levy, it becomes too vast and complicated for one company to maintain. Remember, B&H and others offer low prices because they have low overhead. Overhead includes accounting. Now, B&H may farm it out to one of the larger accounting services or their CPA, but at some point the tax is going to be collected. B&H just doesn't have the resources to respond to every tax district which has a sales/use tax.

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, you can bet your last dollar that districts that don't have a sales tax, will probably levy one in the near future.

I imagine that companies like QuickBooks, Sage, and others already have the software in place, or soon will. There's just too much money at stake.

BebuLamar

I think it's the case in all states that has sales tax.

SportQue

Seriously I've never run into this before. I can see why B&H is offering a CC that pays your sales tax as they stand to lose a lot of business as people will just buy locally with that being the case. Pretty smart on their part. As this is being enforced I'll assume other retailers will follow suit... I can't see Adorama not joining the CC fray.

BebuLamar

Seriously it's not legal not to pay either sales tax or use tax when you buy online. The state may not be able to catch you but that doesn't mean it's legal.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

You're just kidding, right? Not a big deal. They keep their customers happy and pay a lower discount rate on their store credit card as opposed to the other credit card programs. In my earlier post I also noted that many vendors offer various discounts, as do credit card companies. B&H had already been paying some gov't taxes to other states, so this is not completely new. B&H as well as others, will lose sales to some scofflaws and some to brick and mortar.

Heck, they easy have fancy software that when you enter a town and state, it will give a zip code.

Come to Ct, we'll show you some taxes!

SportQue

Well said

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Hi Bud!

I commute daily from Keene to Worcester, Massachusetts, and am very familiar with the roads you mention. As 101/9 is the major east west state road (we do not actually have an east/west route that's highway all the way) it gets a much higher level of investment. Route 12, which I travel daily, looks like it should be outside the Green Zone in Baghdad, having been hit by a few bunker busters. Many other local roads and state highways are in similar condition. The expenditure goes to the most used roads, and I can't really fault that kind of decision.

One strange thing I've observed is how retail gasoline prices are more set by the oil distributors than by anything to do with gas tax rates. I travel New England quite a bit and see this all the time. For example, our NH gas tax is a tick lower than that in Massachusetts, but over a few week span I often see prices ten cents a gallon cheaper in Mass, then ten cents cheaper in New Hampshire just days later.

We do certainly have a weird tax structure in New Hampshire, as well as in many other states - our property taxes are well over $5,000 annually, but my son's house in California, valued at four times ours, pays just over $1,000. "As the fella once said, Ain't that a kick in the head?"

Andy

PS: That's a great liquor store, less than 10 miles from my house. It even has some of the more exotic items that my (theoretically) larger local one in Keene does not stock. Although if you're looking for wine, Keene has a better se******n. The people at the local store say that each store's inventory is based on sales and requests received, so if you want a particular brand, ask for it, whether or not they stock it.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

I'm not saying this is he case in NH but, often the gas price reflects how far the gas pump is from the refinery. The truckers need to make a decent wage too.