NewEgg Tax in More States

[Zalewski]

1 minute ago, AcousticGinger said:

I’m hesitant to write it off just yet. Only because of the things that are consistent. Such as the address for mailing, unless the game is to somehow steal SSN’s.

and how did they get this info if it is fake?

I will certainly be calling the advertised (not on this letter) DRS phone number, and I suggest anyone else who received this does too.

 

• 860-297-5962 (from anywhere) 
• 1-800-382-9463 (Within CT -Outside Greater Hartford area only)

Id agree with you on the stealing SSN game they are playing. Considering they already have your name and address, mine of which is incorrect and was sent to an old out of date address. All it takes is some easy phishing or intrusion on Newegg's end to get this information.

[Donut417]

29 minutes ago, Mightythor460 said:

If the link from @NovaNightmare is correct then Newegg decided to hose it’s custormers rather than collect sales tax. Awesome...

Most online merchants dont collect sales tax. Half the stuff I buy online the merchant doesnt collect. Michigan state law is clear on this point, merchants that have property with in the boarder of the state, which Newegg does not, have to collect tax. When the merchant doesnt collect its up to the purchaser (you) to report it to the state via the Income tax. Its a pretty simple concept. Newegg did nothing wrong, its not their fault.  

[Mightythor460]

13 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Most online merchants dont collect sales tax. Half the stuff I buy online the merchant doesnt collect. Michigan state law is clear on this point, merchants that have property with in the boarder of the state, which Newegg does not, have to collect tax. When the merchant doesnt collect its up to the purchaser (you) to report it to the state via the Income tax. Its a pretty simple concept. Newegg did nothing wrong, its not their fault.  

I had no idea that was a thing until today.

[AcousticGinger]

37 minutes ago, Zalewski said:

Id agree with you on the stealing SSN game they are playing. Considering they already have your name and address, mine of which is incorrect and was sent to an old out of date address. All it takes is some easy phishing or intrusion on Newegg's end to get this information.

The only other explanation I could have for them wanting an SSN is that that are trying to PIN the tax or debt to you.

 

Newegg gives them information that a “John Smith” spent $xxx amount of dollars in the year 20YY and lives at ZZ address.

They send a letter and John says “Oh Boy, that must be me, let me pay it.” DRS sees the SSN and says, “Yep, that confirms it was him, his number is there”

 

[WabiSabi89]

Tax attorney from Connecticut checking in.  Came here from a google search after hearing of people receiving these notices today.  Convenient they all arrived on a state holiday.

I can pretty much guarantee these are legitimate.  Letterhead is consistent with other DRS mailings.  The first 6 digits of the telephone number are consistent with the telephone numbers of the audit division at the CT DRS (http://www.phone.ct.gov/ContactsForAgency.aspx?deptid=DRS).  It would not surprise me if they set up a special number to route calls re: the Use Tax assessment notices through.  I anticipate they'll be receiving a lot of calls to that number in the next few days.  The wonky grammatical issues alluded to above shouldn't surprise anyone who's dealt with DRS personnel before, but the "per cent" issue pointed out is merely a reflection of how the word is written in the Connecticut General Statutes, and the issue between the 1% stated interest rate and the 10% interest charge is because they've calculated the interest from April of 2017 (1% per month * 10 months = 10%).

CT is desperate for tax revenue right now and has been sending out mass collection notices for the past few months (especially for the business entity tax, including for periods that are over a decade old at this point) and auditing small businesses in CT like crazy since last year.  

Newegg confirms on its website that it shares sales information with certain states, but CT is not listed as one of the states with whom they share info: https://kb.newegg.com/Article/Index/12/3/?id=1932

Donut417 is correct above in stating that out-of-state purchases (and in-state purchases for that matter) for which no sales tax was collected by the merchant are subject to Use Tax if the item is to be used in the state of Connecticut.  Use tax is most commonly reported annually on your CT-1040, but may also be reported on an OP-186 (for example if you don't have an income tax filling obligation).  

DRS FAQ on Individual Use Tax:  http://www.ct.gov/drs/cwp/view.asp?A=1510&Q=587460

Edited February 13, 2018 by WabiSabi89

[Mightythor460]

In all my years of filing taxes, not once has out of state purchases ever come up. I know ignorance of the law is not an excuse but this is frustrating as hell.

[WabiSabi89]

I know TurboTax asks you about it, as I use it to prepare my returns and just completed my 2017 return the other night.  But I'm guessing 99.9% of people just check that they didn't have untaxed out-of-state purchases. FWIW I usually just pay a token amount of Use Tax each year because who's going to actually track every out of state purchase for the whole year -- ain't nobody got time for that.  I figured entering something would be better than entering nothing when this inevitably started happening.

[hockeyman3]

I get all this with CT DRS...

you got me...W/E... but 10% interest...f*ck that...you thieves!

 

How-in-the-f*ck-ever, holy f*ck to newegg giving out my personal info...expecially to a government without subpoena or warrant...OVER state lines!!...what the hell?! Where's my right to privacy?  What gave them (newegg) the authority to release my name, address, purchases, and amounts?!?!? To anyone...?!?!?!

 

I'm think of filing a FOA on DRS for this info to see what else they have on me, and specifically what newegg gave them.

 

Can this be a basis for a lawsuit?

 

I'm sickened by this!

 

Big brother just leveled-up...big time.

[Canada EH]

its not newegg doing it, its just some nigerian prince

[djdaftofficial]

I live in CT and also received one of these letters yesterday.  I'm skeptical at best although it does show a URL for the official CT DRS subdomain on the bottom of the letter.  I'll be calling at my earliest convenience to see if this is legitimate or not.  The whole point to using Newegg most of my life since 2009 was because I didn't have to pay the awful sales tax in this state.  Welp.

[2FA]

7 hours ago, hockeyman3 said:

I get all this with CT DRS...

you got me...W/E... but 10% interest...f*ck that...you thieves!

 

How-in-the-f*ck-ever, holy f*ck to newegg giving out my personal info...expecially to a government without subpoena or warrant...OVER state lines!!...what the hell?! Where's my right to privacy?  What gave them (newegg) the authority to release my name, address, purchases, and amounts?!?!? To anyone...?!?!?!

 

I'm think of filing a FOA on DRS for this info to see what else they have on me, and specifically what newegg gave them.

 

Can this be a basis for a lawsuit?

 

I'm sickened by this!

 

Big brother just leveled-up...big time.

You have zero idea if there was a warrant or not, you're just getting upset because a business didn't help you get away with tax evasion.

[RedZT]

I also received one of these letters but haven't had a chance to check out its legitimacy yet.  Connecticut did this years ago with 47th Street Photo, collecting from every state resident who had purchased from the store.  Regardless of what Newegg says, there is a Use Tax (not the Sales Tax) in Connecticut that purchasers are supposed to pay for all out of state purchases, so this may very well be legitimate.  The question then becomes: Why did Newegg give out our personal purchase information?  I called them to ask and the CSR said she didn't know the answer and to call and ask for a supervisor who should be able to help.   She also noted that someone else called asking the same question.  

 

 

[Mightythor460]

Just spoke with DRS. This is very much legitimate and they got the information from Newegg. They also said to check your 2017 purchases for when you file 2917 taxes since thy will be doing this again.

[StopTheCatbox]

16 minutes ago, Mightythor460 said:

Just spoke with DRS. This is very much legitimate and they got the information from Newegg. They also said to check your 2017 purchases for when you file 2917 taxes since thy will be doing this again.

Were you given any ability to dispute the amount? Would they provide you with a list of transactions used to come to the amount owed?

[Mightythor460]

According to the DRS, Newegg just sent totals. There was no breakdown of transactions.

[StopTheCatbox]

6 minutes ago, Mightythor460 said:

According to the DRS, Newegg just sent totals. There was no breakdown of transactions.

That's ridiculous and seemingly illegal. I went through my Newegg history and could not match the total on the letter I got from DRS.

[RedZT]

Everyone here should try see if I can get a list of all the online merchants the CT DRS has targeted - If enough people ask, they may make it readily available.  (the pain may not be over yet if you do a lot of online shopping - except Amazon who cut a deal with the state)   I'd like to see it published online.  Kevin B. Sullivan is the Commissioner, his email is:  kevin.b.sullivan@po.state.ct.us  - I'm going to use an anonymous email so I don't get a target on my back.

[Zalewski]

1 hour ago, StopTheCatbox said:

That's ridiculous and seemingly illegal. I went through my Newegg history and could not match the total on the letter I got from DRS.

Me as well, the totals are completely off

[RedZT]

Looks like Newegg put zero legal effort into protecting our privacy.

[SansVarnic]

-= Moved to Off-Topic =-

[dalekphalm]

2 hours ago, Mightythor460 said:

According to the DRS, Newegg just sent totals. There was no breakdown of transactions.

I would tell the DRS that "totals" are insufficient. Ask them for proof of every purchase, detailed and itemized.

[imreloadin]

7 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I would tell the DRS that "totals" are insufficient. Ask them for proof of every purchase, detailed and itemized.

Couldn't they just audit you then and make you provide the itemized list lol?

[StopTheCatbox]

2 minutes ago, imreloadin said:

Couldn't they just audit you then and make you provide the itemized list lol?

That may be what the DRS is banking on, that the amount for most people is only around $160 or so and that the person may fear being audited for disputing the amount owed. They probably expect people not to fight it due to the cost and effort that may be involved. That's the way quite a few things work, like patent trolls and its infuriating.

[ARikozuM]

Is anyone going to mention Newegg’s forum affiliate?

 

@Newegg_Support

[dalekphalm]

17 minutes ago, imreloadin said:

Couldn't they just audit you then and make you provide the itemized list lol?

Sure. But if they have to audit you, they've already spent more than $160, and therefore, it's in their best interest NOT to audit you.

 

Good accountants and tax investigators are NOT cheap.

 

And even if they did audit you, and you provided the list, and it comes up cheaper than what they are claiming? It wastes your time, but it saves you money and wastes their money.