Informit agrees to refund California Sales Tax

[ApK]

Originally Posted by taustin

(And don't get me started on the environmental crap we have to put up with. We now have to charge what amounts to a depost, like aluminum soft drink cans, on paint cans (except it's not refundable), and there's a "environmental fell" on lumber.)

I lived in LA for a few years, and I immediately started to suspect there was something a little off with the environmental rules when my 8 year old Chevy with federal emissions system, never having had a tuneup and having just driven 3000 miles across country to get there, passed the smog test with results better than the California emissions requirements.
The hazardous chemical labeling laws are funny, too.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by ApK

I lived in LA for a few years, and I immediately started to suspect there was something a little off with the environmental rules when my 8 year old Chevy with federal emissions system, never having had a tuneup and having just driven 3000 miles across country to get there, passed the smog test with results better than the California emissions requirements.
The hazardous chemical labeling laws are funny, too.

Cars are way better.
Computer controls adjust things to keep emissions in 'Spec'.

My 2001 Nissan just passed a full smog (treadmill) with 120K miles.
Basically change Air filter and Spark plugs, which lasted 80K miles (I was lucky to get 10K out of my older cars without GAP adjustment).
The Numbers were not as good as a test 5 years ago, but still within margin.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by Apache

Yes it is. The stores collect the sales tax on sales. The state relies on you to be truthful when you file your sales tax reports. If the store is dishonest they state would have to audit them to discover the fraud.
The State of Florida charges to different Tallahassee merchants with Sales Tax Fraud in the last two weeks.
Apache

California's BOE does audit businesses, too. And usually with a keen insight in to how much the sort of business should be reporting (I suspect they have access to income tax records, even though that's a different tax agency). And if they find fraud, they are very, very harsh. I've seen successful businesses put out of business for underreporting sales tax (to the tune of seven figures for a local computer shop).

[taustin]

Originally Posted by ApK

I lived in LA for a few years, and I immediately started to suspect there was something a little off with the environmental rules when my 8 year old Chevy with federal emissions system, never having had a tuneup and having just driven 3000 miles across country to get there, passed the smog test with results better than the California emissions requirements.

In my experience, you're more likely to have a brand new car fresh off the showroom fail, actually. But the requirements aren't all that onerous, and newer cars don't really need tune-ups when they have fuel injection and electronic ignition.

Originally Posted by ApK

The hazardous chemical labeling laws are funny, too.

Prop 65 is a whole ocean of stupid all its own. (All natural peanut butter, literally nothing in it but peanuts, requires a warning. Most retailers just have a sign on the front door that says "this building contains stuff that might cause cancer.")

[Apache]

Originally Posted by taustin

Most retailers just have a sign on the front door that says "this building contains stuff that might cause cancer.")

Apache

[taustin]

Originally Posted by Apache

Apache

I'd forgotten they added "causes birth defects" to the requirements. The actual wording, to be found at any public entrance to nearly any public builsing in California, is "WARNING This Facility Contains Chemicals Known To The State Of California To Cause Cancer And Birth Defects Or Other Reproductive Harm."

At least the signs are cheap.

[Gardenman]

The state of California does not care if you over charge the customer sales tax as long as you send all the tax to the state.

[tomsem]

Note that this most likely applies to (at least) all of the Pearson Technology Group publishers (I can make that 'definite' for Adobe Press and Peachpit Press):

A division of Pearson Education, Pearson Technology Group (PTG) represents the publishing industry's leading imprints for authoritative and cutting edge technical and professional information. PTG publishes thousands of computer and technology titles per year and includes the publishing imprints of Addison-Wesley, Cisco Press, Peachpit Press, Prentice Hall Professional, Que, and Sams. Pearson Technology Group has corporate publishing alliances with Adobe Systems, Apple, Cisco Systems, Sun, and IBM.

I have pointed this issue out at least 3 times, and they are always responsive and 'understanding' in refunding the sales tax collected but that is not the point. Whoever does their backend services should be fired if they can't make the shopping cart work correctly. It has to cost them a lot of money every time they have to manually process refunds, not to mention impairing customer relations. And please: if any of you purchase books with them and are California residents, please take them to task.

The 'DRM free, multiformat' $9.99 deals of the week are such that I'm not going to stop purchasing direct (even when it means requesting refunds) but I wish they would get it together.

Of course they also sell print books (formerly known as 'real' books) and those are taxed in CA. But anybody collecting sales tax here should know non physical sales are not taxable.

I've been meaning to take it up with Apple for the same thing. They charge sales tax on developer subscriptions for CA residents. Again, this is 'digital goods' so it seems it should not be taxed (or the sales tax rules are more complicated than what is published by
CA board of equalization).

These are big companies, they should know better and care more.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Note that this most likely applies to (at least) all of the Pearson Technology Group publishers (I can make that 'definite' for Adobe Press and Peachpit Press):



I have pointed this issue out at least 3 times, and they are always responsive and 'understanding' in refunding the sales tax collected but that is not the point. Whoever does their backend services should be fired if they can't make the shopping cart work correctly. It has to cost them a lot of money every time they have to manually process refunds, not to mention impairing customer relations. And please: if any of you purchase books with them and are California residents, please take them to task.

The 'DRM free, multiformat' $9.99 deals of the week are such that I'm not going to stop purchasing direct (even when it means requesting refunds) but I wish they would get it together.

Of course they also sell print books (formerly known as 'real' books) and those are taxed in CA. But anybody collecting sales tax here should know non physical sales are not taxable.

I've been meaning to take it up with Apple for the same thing. They charge sales tax on developer subscriptions for CA residents. Again, this is 'digital goods' so it seems it should not be taxed (or the sales tax rules are more complicated than what is published by
CA board of equalization).

These are big companies, they should know better and care more.

What makes you think this is an accident?
As an example, if they made $0.10 per book collecting illegal sales tax on 10,000,000 books that is $1,000,000.00 a day. And before you say they do not sell 1,000,000 books a day to California residents, who is to say California is the only state they are doing this in. This is just an example but, they could be making a lot of money doing this. And the majority of people will never notice.
Apache

[Yolina]

Originally Posted by taustin

All natural peanut butter, literally nothing in it but peanuts, requires a warning.

OT I know but...

I've bought boxes of eggs here in the UK which had "warning - allergy information: contains eggs" printed on the inside of the lid though I haven't seen it for quite a while now so maybe someone somewhere realised that this was maybe just a tad over-zealous.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by taustin

" ..Known To The State Of California..."

I've often wondered if the implication was "known to the state of California, though not to anyone else in the world....."

ApK

[xendula]

Originally Posted by taustin

Prop 65 is a whole ocean of stupid all its own. (All natural peanut butter, literally nothing in it but peanuts, requires a warning.

OT: I did not know anything about Prop 65, but sounds to me like the State of California is looking out for its consumers: you can't change your habits if informatiom is being withheld from you. Too bad RI doesn't give a crap about us!

In RI, we don't even get all the information about medication! While in Europe we get a huge sheet of paper with very, very, very fine print (read: all the information that comes with the medication), in RI they give you a business sized piece of photocopied paper with the one or two paragraphs the State requires them to inform you about. It's disgusting.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by ApK

I've often wondered if the implication was "known to the state of California, though not to anyone else in the world....."

ApK

That's warnings that apply to everybody, even to those whose states of residence prefer to keep their consumers in the dark.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by xendula

OT: I did not know anything about Prop 65, but sounds to me like the State of California is looking out for its consumers: you can't change your habits if information is being withheld from you.

I'm sure they see it that way. It might even be true. But it's also possible that, like TV news and conspiracy theorists, they are needless creating fear, uncertainty and doubt by spreading needless warnings, about questionably researched, ultra-low-probability effects.

Tell me: have you ever changed your mind about buying something because of those labels?

Same for medications. Would you refuse to take a needed medication because of those low-probability side effect warnings? I'm not saying they should be removed, I just question their value over trusting the prescribing physician.

One specialist told me outright when he prescribed a med and I asked about the side effects: "If I told you all the possible side effects, you'd never take it. In twenty years of prescribing it, I've never seen ANY of the side effects. Please take it."

ApK

[theducks]

Originally Posted by taustin

Prop 65 is a whole ocean of stupid all its own. (All natural peanut butter, literally nothing in it but peanuts, requires a warning. Most retailers just have a sign on the front door that says "this building contains stuff that might cause cancer.")

I had to have one of those signs affixed to the door of the UPS Battery Room.
A room that contained dozens of Huge (1000lb.) Lead-acid Batteries because of the Lead (Pb) that was mostly submerged in
H2SO4 (A lot more problems than Cancer or Birth Defects)