Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if you buy something from another state, or over the internet, do you not have to pay "use tax" equivalent to the amount of sales tax that would have been paid had you bought it in your own state? That being the case, I don't see why it would be cheaper, unless people are committing the crime of tax evasion by not paying it?
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You're correct. In theory, you should pay the use tax.
But people don't. I guess some people do, but it's probably the same amount of people who voluntarily pay more in taxes just because they want to help the government.
It's a complicated issue because some states really really want that money (and keep pushing for it). And other states just aren't that big on taxing. It's pretty much along party lines.
It also gets further complicated when you get to e-material. Sony, for instance, has an online store that sells video games in electronic format. Some states they charge tax. Some don't. This is a huge hassle because they sell cards for use at their store in $20 and $50 amounts, but in places they charge tax, the $20 is no longer enough to buy a $20 game.
(And interestingly, MS dodges this issue by selling "points", not money, you purchase games with)