[CxofxJFm]

I just received an email from them saying that they no longer going to collect sales taxes from New York state.

I guess the impact on their sales was huge...

[GypeFeeshyTes]

I just received an email from them saying that they no longer going to collect sales taxes from New York state.

I guess the impact on their sales was huge...

How can they just opt not to charge sales tax? I thought the law was if you had a building in the state then you must charge tax?

[HsSp82U8]

How can they just opt not to charge sales tax? I thought the law was if you had a building in the state then you must charge tax?

Well no - technically they have to PAY tax; in almost all cases, the company passes it on to the customer. But there are some sales where the company pays the sales tax (no different than a 7-10% off sale really); in Newegg's case, perhaps the loss in sales was more than them just sucking up the tax..

[251EPyso]

How can they just opt not to charge sales tax? I thought the law was if you had a building in the state then you must charge tax?

Someone is obligated to pay the sales tax. Technically, if you buy a product online, wherever you use that product initially, you should pay use tax on it if the supplier hasn't charged tax. So, if I buy parts from newegg, have them shipped to NYC, then use them in NYC, I should pay all applicable taxes even if I'm not charged them on the invoice. Newegg isn't required to charge any sales tax but if they don't its YOUR job to pay it. Needless to say its a law that really isn't enforced with consumers. The law is enforced more for businesses.

[Andoror]

Someone is obligated to pay the sales tax. Technically, if you buy a product online, wherever you use that product initially, you should pay use tax on it if the supplier hasn't charged tax. So, if I buy parts from newegg, have them shipped to NYC, then use them in NYC, I should pay all applicable taxes even if I'm not charged them on the invoice. Newegg isn't required to charge any sales tax but if they don't its YOUR job to pay it. Needless to say its a law that really isn't enforced with consumers. The law is enforced more for businesses.

i thought there was no sales tax on interstate commerce, as long as it is shipped from out of state company to your door. New York and other states want there, but afaik there is not such law (maybe some states have passed em).

"In a 1992 decision, the United States Supreme Court exempted out-of-state retailers from collecting sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence, such as a store, office, or warehouse (the legal term for this physical presence is "nexus"). Although the case dealt with a mail order company, the ruling has subsequently been applied to all remote sellers, including online retailers. The Court cited the burden of requiring these companies to comply with the regulations of some 7,500 different local taxing jurisdictions and the resulting adverse impact on interstate commerce (see Quill v. North Dakota.) The Court specifically noted that Congress has the authority to change this policy by enacting legislation requiring all retailers to collect sales taxes. To date Congress has not done so."

[sbrpkkl]

yup tigerdirect in tn is tax exempt regarding the tax law. however newegg is not. ( WHSE in memphis), the taxes dont bother me, and i ussually dont try to avoid them, unless, ive got a set limit, and the item price+tax would be over it

[251EPyso]

i thought there was no sales tax on interstate commerce, as long as it is shipped from out of state company to your door. New York and other states want there, but afaik there is not such law (maybe some states have passed em).

"In a 1992 decision, the United States Supreme Court exempted out-of-state retailers from collecting sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence, such as a store, office, or warehouse (the legal term for this physical presence is "nexus"). Although the case dealt with a mail order company, the ruling has subsequently been applied to all remote sellers, including online retailers. The Court cited the burden of requiring these companies to comply with the regulations of some 7,500 different local taxing jurisdictions and the resulting adverse impact on interstate commerce (see Quill v. North Dakota.) The Court specifically noted that Congress has the authority to change this policy by enacting legislation requiring all retailers to collect sales taxes. To date Congress has not done so."

There's a difference between sales and use tax. If I live in California and I buy a product from a company in Iowa and they ship me the product for me to use in California, then I'm not required to pay any Iowa sales tax but I am obligated to pay California use tax for consuming the product within California. That's why there would be no sales tax on the invoice, because the Iowa company isn't liable for ensuring that I pay tax to the state of california.