Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Thornton
They ask what law one is breaking - it's payment of local taxes that would concern me. If I tell Amazon.com that I'm in the US, I don't pay VAT, and I suspect that it isn't legal to lie to a retailer so as to avoid VAT payment.
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In the US (don't know how this applies to the UK), sales tax is paid by the retailer--and they're allowed, not required, to demand customers pay them for it. Businesses regularly run "we pay the tax!" sales, which work out to a 5-10% discount depending on what state they're in. (There are states with lower sales taxes, and a couple with none, but they don't run "we pay the tax" as promotional sales methods.)
Is the customer *required* to pay VAT, or is the retailer required to pay it, and permitted to pass the cost along to the customer? (Also, is the customer required to pay it, or import fees, for purchases made out of the country & brought home later?)