The Geographically Challenged.

[Dave1982]

OK, so I've basically finished with my Staples stories (though I'm sure I'll have more new ones before the Christams season ends). Onto my previous job.

I used to work at a privately owned hobby shop located in a border shopping plaza in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has a 5% sales tax. It was literally the case that about 350 yards away is New Hampshire, and a tax-free shopping haven.

Now, being in the southernmost plaza along this road made for confusion as to just what state we were in. At least once a week we'd get a reaction out of someone new when we rang in their purchases and the sales tax was added. Adding to the confusion was (and still is) the fact that the state line runs at an angle to the plaza, so that if you go to the mall direcetly across the street, you're back in New Hampshire (that becomes important later). Usually one of two things would happen. 1) It would dawn on them that "oh yeah, I'm in Massachusetts now" or 2) we'd say "the state line is about 300 meters THAT WAY" and they'd get it.

But of course, that's just "usually."

The following is a fictional conversation that encompases many of the arguments SCs used to "convince" us we were in a different state.

SC: Excuse me, this item is only $20! Why did you ring it in at $21?
Me (or other clerk): Sales tax.
SC: This is New Hampshire. There's no sales tax in New Hampshire!
Me: We're in Massachusetts. The state line is about 300 yard that way *points*
SC: No we are NOT in Massachusetts!
Me: Yes we are.
SC: Take the tax OFF! We are NOT in Massachusetts. That is a mistake!
Me: It is illegal for us to not charge the tax.
SC: BULLSHIT! WE are NOT in Massachusetts!! Are you aware that directly across teh street is the mall, which is in NH? Therefore, we are also in NH.

(Yeah, major commercial roads always run strictly north-south and state lines always run strictly east-west. Therefore, we MUST be in the same state as the mall. Silly me.)

Me: The state line is 350 yards northeast.
SC: NO! It's south of here!
Me: The highway exit just north of here is exit 36, the last exit in MA. The next exit to the north is exit 1, the first in NH. To get here, you have to come SOUTH from the last exit in MA. We are in MA.


SC: You're just trying to sneak a little extra in to make more profit on something that's overpriced anyway!

(Right. If we were really trying to stiff you, we'd just mark the goods up. We wouldn't do something easily spotted like adding 5% at the register. And if it's overpriced anyway, we wouldn't need to do that. Idiots).

Me: No we aren't. We are in MA. MA requires a 5% sales tax.

SC: Hobby stuff isn't taxable!

Me: Yes, it is.

SC: This is FRAUDULENT! I'm gonna call the cops/attourney general/my lawyer!

Me: Go right ahead. They'll tell you we are in MA. In the meantime, the total is $21.

SC: I'm not paying the tax.

Me: Then I can't sell you this.

SC: Then I won't ever shop here again.

Me: Good.



I'm sure I forgot a few. It got pretty ugly at times. More than a few sales were lost due to our "fraudulent business practices." In fact, it got so bad that at one point I lost all patience and made an enlarged copy of a local map. On it, I highlighted the clearly-marked state line, then added a YOU ARE HERE mark and in BIG letter wrote MASS on the south side of the line. I had this laminated and stashed it behind the counter. Unfortunately, the boss found that too extreme and pitched it.

Of course, it got "better" later. Two years into my tenture there, we moved the store, to a larger space on the other side of the same plaza. Still in MA (the whole plaza is in MA), but about 125 yards closer to the line. Which of course led to a whole new round of stupidity

SC: So you are guys are in NH now, right?

WRONG!

SC: Hey! This is only $20! You charged $21! I thought we were in NH now on this side!!

WRONG!

SC: No, no, NO! This side of the plaza is in NH!!!!!!!

WRONG!

And of course, toss in a healthy portion of the previously mentioned arguments, and we all wanted to start shooting. Sometime after I left, an aeriel photo of the whole area was posted near the register, with a nice fat marker line at the border, and YOU ARE HERE located clearly in MA. I guess I had the right idea after all.

Just typing this up made me want to scream

[BlakeMP]

Daaaaaaaaaamn.

Customers so stupid they don't even know what STATE they're in... that's a new one on me.

[Sofar]

Spoken as if you might reply, "Oh, really? Well doesn't that just change eveything. We've been charging Massachusetts sales tax, listing ourselves as Massachusetts owned and operated on our tax return, and writing Massachusetts on the return addresses of our letters for the last eight years since we opened, and so has everyone else in this market, but now you tell me we're in New Hampshire? Well, okay then. I'll inform the I.R.S., in the meantime that'll be precisely $19.99."

[Jester]

I think the map might be a bit extreme, both from the politeness angle, and because while the average customer would be able to read the map, SC's can't decipher anything that complex.

Myself, I would have posted a very simple sign by the register: "This store is located in Massachusetts, not in New Hampshire, and as such, and therefore all sales are subject to the Massachusetts 5% sales tax. Thank you for your understanding."

But that's just me.

Of course, I have no doubt that many SC's would still argue the point as to where they were, or more to the point, where THE STORE was. Despite any and all evidence to the contrary.

[Knightmare]

Come to Florida, where every county charges their own sales tax. My county has sales tax of 7%, where the county south of us charges 6%; east of us is 6.5% and north of us is 6%. (roughly)
It's especially fun when we have the annual "tax free BTS shopping" where almost anything related to back-to-school is tax free. Customers will bring up anything and say it's BTS and *suprise!* that expensive watch is not BTS. Or paint for that matter.

And then customers will bitch and moan about the tax rate here, and say they will go to a different county to save the taxes. Ok... have fun wasting more gas vs. what you would have saved to shave off that extra .5% of tax.

[Becks]

And that is why I make sure to note any "Welcome to {insert state name here}" signs.

[Imogene]

Okay, I'll freely admit to being geographically challenged, but, if the person ringing me out says we're in Massachusetts, Hell, we must be in Massachusetts.

...though, how I got to Massachusetts, I don't know... shouldn'a taken tha' left toin at Albuquerque...

[Antisocial_Worker]

My part of North Carolina is within easy driving distance of three other states, four if you want to count Virginia, but that's a bit of a haul. At any rate, one of these states, which shall remain nameless, is rather notorious for not wanting to pay taxes to anyone for anything. The denizens of this state apparently believe that the municipal finance fairy will wave her magic wand and make everything all better.

As such, they're stunned when staying at my hotel and learning what their bill is after taxes are added. I have been treated to more conversations than I care to hear about how the taxes here are too high, or that we're screwing these people out of their money by charging such high taxes.

"Boy, those taxes will get you every time!" is a common refrain.

Sometimes I think it, and other times I actually do explain that if you have millions of people pouring in every year, and they're paying for something here, does it not make sense to charge higher taxes on the goods and services they use as opposed to those that only the locals use? It's free money!

This never satisfies people from the unnamed state. After dealing with them, I'm always a little worn down that in this day and age there are still people out there who believe that schools, not mushrooms, pop up in empty fields after a rain, that highways repair themselves, and that nobody ever actually needs social services.

[Dave1982]

I think the map might be a bit extreme, both from the politeness angle, and because while the average customer would be able to read the map, SC's can't decipher anything that complex.

Myself, I would have posted a very simple sign by the register: "This store is located in Massachusetts, not in New Hampshire, and as such, and therefore all sales are subject to the Massachusetts 5% sales tax. Thank you for your understanding."

But that's just me.

Of course, I have no doubt that many SC's would still argue the point as to where they were, or more to the point, where THE STORE was. Despite any and all evidence to the contrary.

Actually, I never posted the map. I just had it stashed within easy reach so that if anyone decided to argue the point, it could be pulled out.

[KhirasHY]

Come to Florida, where every county charges their own sales tax. My county has sales tax of 7%, where the county south of us charges 6%; east of us is 6.5% and north of us is 6%. (roughly)
It's especially fun when we have the annual "tax free BTS shopping" where almost anything related to back-to-school is tax free. Customers will bring up anything and say it's BTS and *suprise!* that expensive watch is not BTS. Or paint for that matter.

And then customers will bitch and moan about the tax rate here, and say they will go to a different county to save the taxes. Ok... have fun wasting more gas vs. what you would have saved to shave off that extra .5% of tax.

I know this one all too well...same thing is true in Colorado, when I worked retail I would have people flip out that our taxes were higher than the place they would have to drive over 90 minutes to get to, and leave the store. I actually had someone call me to mention that they had driven 30 miles away just to get the same item for less. I couldn't resist asking them how many gallons of gas they used to save $.90...they didn't like that

[Crosshair]

This is why I like having a river as the border between two states. Makes it alot easier to point out that fact.

[ArenaBoy]

My state is one of the few(?) to be above Canada and we often get a lot of Canadians whining about the exchange rate. We rarely take Canadian currency for a lot of reasons but while some understand, others just bitch and moan.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

It gets worse. We have the same thing on the Delaware/Maryland border. MD charges 5% and Delaware is no sales tax.

Now image the fun of having a town straddling the border with half the town on one side, an east-west road that IS the border (called Line Road for good reason) and the rest of the town in DE.

A person at the furniture store in the MD side of Delmar (cute name for the "town too big for one state") complained that they had to pay the 5% on the three thousand dollar living room suite when she didn't have to pay for the flowers she bought across the street.

M

[Ryu]

haha i dont think ive ever been in that town, sounds like it would be fun as an observer at the right time
i used to go to delaware a lot to visit grandparents so i know all about the no sales tax, that must be a pain working in that town

[Dreamstalker]

Santa Fe is weird. It seems that different regions of the city vary on sales tax...only a half-percent or so, but it is odd.