City Sales Tax buying books

TheSmitty · 06-05-2023, 05:32 PM

I have noticed that when I buy books thru Kobo Books that I get charges for City sales tax even though I do not live in a city that has sales tax. I have not seen a city sales tax on any other online purchases (Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, etc) Any ideas about this?

DNSB · 06-05-2023, 07:20 PM

Looking at your location which seems to be Dallas Fort Worth, there are either 3 or 2 city taxes. Fort Worth shows a city tax of 1%, a crime control tax of 0.5% and a MTA Transit tax of 0.5% while Dallas shows a city tax of 1% and a MTA Transit tax of 1% so a total of 2% for either city. If this is like several American cities I've visited, you would see an 8.25% sales tax which combines the Texas state tax of 6.25% with the city taxes without breaking them out individually on most sales receipts.

Blame it on South Dakota vs. Wayfair.

SteveEisenberg · 06-05-2023, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSmitty

I have noticed that when I buy books thru Kobo Books that I get charges for City sales tax even though I do not live in a city that has sales tax. I have not seen a city sales tax on any other online purchases (Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, etc) Any ideas about this?

I googled to see if others are complaining, and can’t find it.

Obviously it is a Kobo bug.

Just as a wild guess, is your zip code correct, and does your five digit zip code territory extend into a city? This last would not excuse Kobo, even if it would help explain their software bug.

I’d also double-check your whole address to make sure it is recognized here:

https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?byaddress

Also see:

https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales/refunds/

TheSmitty · 06-05-2023, 09:22 PM

Thanks. Must be a bug on their end as I live in a small town 30 and 35 miles away from Fort Worth and Dallas. The bigger etailers don’t have the problem.

theducks · 06-07-2023, 12:46 AM

Here in California, The sale is considered to be at the store, unless delivered by common carrier to another district (that district taxes apply if in state).

The Internet is not a common carrier

Catch22

It even get trickier for businesses that sell at shows as that establishes a 'in state presence' (even tho it might be a few days a year). This counts for later mail order sale in some states.

06-05-2023, 05:32 PM	#1
TheSmitty Addict Posts: 317 Karma: 1181422 Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: DFW, TX area Device: Kindle Colorsoft, Libra Colour, Voyage, iPad Pro 11, iPad Mini 7	City Sales Tax buying books I have noticed that when I buy books thru Kobo Books that I get charges for City sales tax even though I do not live in a city that has sales tax. I have not seen a city sales tax on any other online purchases (Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, etc) Any ideas about this?

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06-05-2023, 07:20 PM	#2
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 46,190 Karma: 168983734 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Looking at your location which seems to be Dallas Fort Worth, there are either 3 or 2 city taxes. Fort Worth shows a city tax of 1%, a crime control tax of 0.5% and a MTA Transit tax of 0.5% while Dallas shows a city tax of 1% and a MTA Transit tax of 1% so a total of 2% for either city. If this is like several American cities I've visited, you would see an 8.25% sales tax which combines the Texas state tax of 6.25% with the city taxes without breaking them out individually on most sales receipts. Blame it on South Dakota vs. Wayfair.

06-05-2023, 09:22 PM	#4
TheSmitty Addict Posts: 317 Karma: 1181422 Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: DFW, TX area Device: Kindle Colorsoft, Libra Colour, Voyage, iPad Pro 11, iPad Mini 7	Thanks. Must be a bug on their end as I live in a small town 30 and 35 miles away from Fort Worth and Dallas. The bigger etailers don’t have the problem.

06-07-2023, 12:46 AM	#5
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,054 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Here in California, The sale is considered to be at the store, unless delivered by common carrier to another district (that district taxes apply if in state). The Internet is not a common carrier Catch22 It even get trickier for businesses that sell at shows as that establishes a 'in state presence' (even tho it might be a few days a year). This counts for later mail order sale in some states.

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