An update to newegg collecting CT sales tax

[draginator]

Attached is the email I received this morning. Looks like if you didn't pay anything yet you should be in the clear.

[ItsMitch]

Good damage control, but I feel bad for the people who've already paid. 

[79wjd]

12 minutes ago, SC2Mitch said:

Good damage control, but I feel bad for the people who've already paid. 

You feel bad for the people who paid the thing they were supposed to pay from day 1?

[The Benjamins]

4 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

You feel bad for the people who paid the thing they were supposed to pay from day 1?

since most people see tax at check out I am willing to bet most people think if they don't get taxed at checkout they don't need to pay it.

 

they are basically not told to pay it.

[79wjd]

9 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

since most people see tax at check out I am willing to bet most people think if they don't get taxed at checkout they don't need to pay it.

 

they are basically not told to pay it.

They might have not expected to have to pay it, but that doesn't change the fact that in all fairness they were supposed to. It's a lucky bonus that those that didn't pay it yet might not have to.

[The Benjamins]

4 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

They might have not expected to have to pay it, but that doesn't change the fact that in all fairness they were supposed to. It's a lucky bonus that those that didn't pay it yet might not have to.

True but a big problem is that customers are not educated to the fact that if a store does not charge tax they are still responsible to pay it.

[dizmo]

Nice to see NewEgg stepping up. I think that if tax is to be paid it's absolutely the burden of the company you're purchasing from. That's how Canada does it. It's odd the US doesn't have similar systems set up. 

26 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

since most people see tax at check out I am willing to bet most people think if they don't get taxed at checkout they don't need to pay it.

 

they are basically not told to pay it.

At the same time ignorance is no excuse. Especially if there's a section you see when filling out your taxes for the year. 

[seon123]

I love the last part of the mail

Quote

Confidential - Do Not Forward

I still don't get why NA prices are listed without taxes. Just seems like an inconvenience. 

[yolosnail]

8 minutes ago, seon123 said:

I love the last part of the mail

I still don't get why NA prices are listed without taxes. Just seems like an inconvenience. 

I think it has something to do with each state having different taxes. But to be honest it really can't be that difficult to automatically adjust prices online depending on the state the customer is registered in. And in retail stores, all the price tags are just printed out so how hard could it be to adjust the price tags store to store depending on the location.

But what I think the real reason is that American corporations just don't want the hassle of having to collect the tax and then pay it to the government as it would take time, and time is money.

I know it's probably an unpopular opinion, but if the consumer is required to pay the taxes, and they haven't, then it is not Newegg's problem. Sure the consumer could turn around and say "oh, I didn't know I had to pay taxes on that", but that's like somebody buying a car, getting pulled over for no insurance and saying "Well I didn't know I had to have insurance" because it wasn't included in the cost of the car

[Brooksie359]

7 minutes ago, yolosnail said:

I think it has something to do with each state having different taxes. But to be honest it really can't be that difficult to automatically adjust prices online depending on the state the customer is registered in. And in retail stores, all the price tags are just printed out so how hard could it be to adjust the price tags store to store depending on the location.

But what I think the real reason is that American corporations just don't want the hassle of having to collect the tax and then pay it to the government as it would take time, and time is money.

I know it's probably an unpopular opinion, but if the consumer is required to pay the taxes, and they haven't, then it is not Newegg's problem. Sure the consumer could turn around and say "oh, I didn't know I had to pay taxes on that", but that's like somebody buying a car, getting pulled over for no insurance and saying "Well I didn't know I had to have insurance" because it wasn't included in the cost of the car

Those comparisons are very different. Needing insurance for driving a car is common knowledge while use tax is not. Not only that but it seems like the government has failed in informing people properly what use tax is and when it needs to be paid. I mean it's like having a law and not educating the people about it. Obviously people are going to get arrested for it even though it really isn't their fault.

[79wjd]

1 minute ago, Brooksie359 said:

Those comparisons are very different. Needing insurance for driving a car is common knowledge while use tax is not. Not only that but it seems like the government has failed in informing people properly what use tax is and when it needs to be paid. I mean it's like having a law and not educating the people about it. Obviously people are going to get arrested for it even though it really isn't their fault.

People run into problems all the time with the IRS for not filing taxes properly; there's a reason why a large portion of the population sees a tax attorney. There's nothing special about this case. The bigger overarching problem really is the complete mess that is US tax law. 

[Brooksie359]

Just now, djdwosk97 said:

People run into problems all the time with the IRS for not filing taxes properly. There's nothing special about this case. The bigger overarching problem really is the complete mess that is US tax law. 

Just because something happens all the time doesn't make it any less dumb. People running into problems with the IRS because the government has failed to help people understand what they need to do when paying taxes is dumb no matter how you look at it. It's like going to a store and having you determine the price of the products based on rules and if you get it wrong you are in big trouble. In all honesty they should just make sales tax required all the time that way this tax isn't an issue.

[michaelocarroll007]

2 hours ago, draginator said:

Attached is the email I received this morning. Looks like if you didn't pay anything yet you should be in the clear.

Looks like just the 2017 year you'll need to pay on?

[michaelocarroll007]

26 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

Because we don't have a VAT tax in the US.  Our taxes are handled by the states for sales tax.  My state has a policy that you only pay tax in state, but if you order out of state then you pay no tax.  If I were to order from Amazon, and their warehouse is out of my state then I pay no tax.  If the warehouse is in state then I pay tax.

 Alright not sure what state your in But For almost every single state. This is only true for If the company selling you has to charge you the tax. The whole reason this problem exists in CT is the fact no one paid tax at purchase since newegg doesn't operate there.  BUT you are still required to pay taxes on the order just when you file at the end of the year and or some states on a monthly basis. 

[Bananasplit_00]

4 hours ago, The Benjamins said:

since most people see tax at check out I am willing to bet most people think if they don't get taxed at checkout they don't need to pay it.

 

they are basically not told to pay it.

that would be ignorance of the law, no? sure seems like it to me, but i guess i dont live in the US either

[Donut417]

13 hours ago, yolosnail said:

I think it has something to do with each state having different taxes. But to be honest it really can't be that difficult to automatically adjust prices online depending on the state the customer is registered in. And in retail stores, all the price tags are just printed out so how hard could it be to adjust the price tags store to store depending on the location.

But what I think the real reason is that American corporations just don't want the hassle of having to collect the tax and then pay it to the government as it would take time, and time is money.

I know it's probably an unpopular opinion, but if the consumer is required to pay the taxes, and they haven't, then it is not Newegg's problem. Sure the consumer could turn around and say "oh, I didn't know I had to pay taxes on that", but that's like somebody buying a car, getting pulled over for no insurance and saying "Well I didn't know I had to have insurance" because it wasn't included in the cost of the car

Yeah the tags in stores are printed out in stores, and the tax is not included in the price. You are 100% right, collecting sales tax costs time and money. But it also had to deal with Sales Tax polices themselves. Some states may not tax all goods. For example, raw food is not taxed in Michigan but Prepared food is. I think thats why they dont collect tax. Because its a pain in the ass. 

[Donut417]

14 hours ago, The Benjamins said:

since most people see tax at check out I am willing to bet most people think if they don't get taxed at checkout they don't need to pay it.

 

they are basically not told to pay it.

You cant claim ignorance in the law, not a valid defense. Plus, for states that collect it at the end of the year, its clearly drawn out on the tax forms. People know they need to pay but just dont care. Because as it stands most states wont find out. 

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

Pretty sure the IRS would just send you the bill if you owe them anything you don't claim.  If you continue to ignore that bill then yes you will get in a lot of trouble.

The IRS doesn't do sales tax. There only job in life is to collect income taxes from Citizens and what ever tax they collect from businesses. Each state has a treasury department that deals with taxes on the state level. Gotta remember the different levels of government in the US. Federal, State, County (in some areas), and local towns/cities. Each has certain powers and responsibilities. For example the state of Michigan or the Federal government are not going to go after you for not paying taxes to the city of Detroit. 

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, valdyrgramr said:

Well, I mean MD only cares if you bought from an in state place or if the place is sending it from a warehouse in state.  If they send it from out of state my state doesn't care.

My point is the Federal Government doesn't give a shit about Sales Tax. As they dont get any of it any way. 

[michaelocarroll007]

On 3/24/2018 at 8:43 PM, valdyrgramr said:

Each individual state has their own sales tax rules.  In Maryland, according to our governor Larry Hogan, you only have to pay if the store is in state or they have a warehouse here where your order is being fulfilled.  Also, that's not exactly true.  It's only if the IRS "requires" it, or if they sent you a letter about it.  

NOPE you in marland have to pay Use tax on All Items that you bought non taxed. Companies just dont have to themselves charge the tax if no warehouse is present in your state. YOU are suppose to file these purchases and pay your tax duty on them. see below.

 

"Every time you purchase taxable tangible goods from businesses outside of Maryland, whether in person, over the phone, or on the Internet, the purchase is subject to Maryland's 6 percent use tax or 9 percent alcoholic beverage tax if you use the merchandise in Maryland. Maryland's use tax protects Maryland businesses from unfair competition. Local businesses would be at a competitive disadvantage if consumers were entitled to a 6 or 9  percent discount on items purchased from out of state businesses."

 

http://taxes.marylandtaxes.gov/Individual_Taxes/Individual_Tax_Types/Sales_and_Use_Tax/  Right off the site for your state.