Sales tax, my education, and fascism. All in one encounter!

[laborcat]

I don't understand why if they didn't want to pay sales tax, why can't they just buy the damned things in Delaware.

Of course, I live in a state where I expect sales tax. Using her logic, if I shopped in Delaware, does that mean they would charge me Ohio sales tax? I'm not even sure how much that is now, 6.5% maybe? I just pay it...

[Sapphire Silk]

They may be from Delaware, the product is from New Jersey

Correction: the product is being SOLD in New Jersey, and thus is subject to New Jersey laws.

Only 3.5%? Wow, that's great - ours is around 8% (depending on county).

Mine's about 7.75%, but with minor variations depending on what county and city you are in. Makes it really hard to keep track. I just pay it.

I guess I've been lucky that in 33 years of retail, I have yet to hear a customer actually use the phrase, "I demand..."
Must be more of an American expression, because I read it a lot on CS in some of the more unbelievably sucky customer tales.

Ree, you have so jinxed yourself. You'll get one tomorrow, now.

[Ree]

Ree, you have so jinxed yourself. You'll get one tomorrow, now.

LOL...whoops.

On another note: Just a reminder to everyone to stay on the topic of the sucky customer and please don't turn this into a debate of sales tax laws in each state.

[taxguykarl]

In Illinois it runs from 6% to 10.5%--depending on the county and municipality. Now you know why Mrs. TGK prefers to clothes-shop online or in Wisconsin or Indiana.

[Eisa]

So I guess if she was from a state with sales tax and then went to a state with no sales tax, she'd demand to pay her state's sales tax, right? Wow. What an idiot.

[Frantic Freddie]

Reminds me of the time when I worked in the liquor dept. of the Green Wall,a very nice older Canadian couple came in & bought every case of Crown Royal we had (3.5 cases) & as I was checkin' them out I asked them why they would buy a Canadian whisky in New Mexico.
They laughed & told me something I didn't know: "It's cheaper to buy it here 'cause of the taxes"

[Sonoma]

Huh. In Washington State (8%), we'd better hop to it to delete the sales tax off of non-sales-tax states, or there'll be hell to pay, you'd better believe it. I just have to enter name address and license number. Didn't know they didn't do it elsewhere.

The only time I've taken advantage of that opportunity in Washington is when I'm buying a big-ticket item lick my old truck. Nearly $10k purchase, which I was going to have to pay Oregon taxes on to register it, I didn't really want to pay Washington sales tax too.

When buying a $1.50 box of crayons, I'll just pay the tax.

I figure I'm in the state, have access to services the taxes pay for (police, fire, highways, etc), I'll pay the tax.

Too bad super-math-geniuses' mother didn't consider the fact that he wasn't BUYING the cards in Delaware.

[Kristev]

How contemptable. At least your manager hand your back, which surprised me.

Reminds me of when I used to work with disabled people. Some of them never remembered there was such a thing as sales tax, too.

[auntiem]

The only time I've taken advantage of that opportunity in Washington is when I'm buying a big-ticket item lick my old truck. Nearly $10k purchase, which I was going to have to pay Oregon taxes on to register it, I didn't really want to pay Washington sales tax too.

When buying a $1.50 box of crayons, I'll just pay the tax.

I figure I'm in the state, have access to services the taxes pay for (police, fire, highways, etc), I'll pay the tax.

Too bad super-math-geniuses' mother didn't consider the fact that he wasn't BUYING the cards in Delaware.

I never minded doing the paperwork for Oregon folk - you guys have a state income tax and we don't. The ones that irked me were the Canadians who wanted me to do all the paperwork for a $15 purchase. Hey, you used our highway to get here - that tiny tax you are paying on this purchase hardly pays for the road wear and tear your car used. I haven't worked retail for years and years, but I think there was a big too do about this whole issue a few years back and now they only can do that paperwork for big ticket items.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Sales Tax-ing
KM: Since this is your fault I demand that you give my kid the cards for free.

And I demand that you go and pull your entitled head out of your entitled ass. Looks like neither of us is getting what we want.

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

They may be from Delaware, the product is from New Jersey

...mostly... they are buying it IN New Jersey. It is as if I drove 80 miles per hour on the motorway here because that is the limit in ITaly, where I come from...

[Darkforge]

This is why I like that in most places inthe Uk sales tax (called VAT) is added onto the prices on the shelf. (there are some exceptions such as wholesalers)

unfortunately its 20%

[Sapphire Silk]

Reminds me of the time when I worked in the liquor dept. of the Green Wall,a very nice older Canadian couple came in & bought every case of Crown Royal we had (3.5 cases) & as I was checkin' them out I asked them why they would buy a Canadian whisky in New Mexico.
They laughed & told me something I didn't know: "It's cheaper to buy it here 'cause of the taxes"

Yeah, I saw this when I lived in North Dakota. I had a friend from Candada and went to visit several times. She'd always buy Canadian whiskey at the American duty free shop on the way home

[chainedbarista]

hmm, i went to a public school in a rural area and at his age, i understood the paying of taxes on a purchase when applicable. getting an A in remedial general math isn't as impressive as it sounds, son.

[Shalom]

New York State is weird in this respect. It actually requires you to file a "sales tax return" and pay taxes on products bought out of state. For the most part they only enforced this on motor vehicles, but in theory you're required to do this anytime you buy something, e.g. if you order a computer from a retailer in some other state that doesn't collect NYS taxes (some do) you are responsible for sending in the sales tax yourself.

(Only reason I know this is because I have to send in a sales tax return every year regardless. This is because I had to get a tax ID number to get my locksmith license. I just fill out all zeroes and mail it in every year.)

It also applies to people buying tax-free fuel and tobacco in the Tuscarora Nation (or other Native American lands) on the way between Buffalo and Toronto. There was a point (about 1997 or so) when they were writing down license plate numbers of cars leaving the Rez and sending them tax bills.

As for New Jersey, state tax is 7%, but in some economically depressed areas (my city, for one) they drop it to 3.5%. Shame motor vehicles are excluded, I'm in the market for a new (or used) car and could be in line to save a chunk of change.

I wonder if there's a way for the SC in the original post to reclaim the tax she paid in Jersey, once she leaves the state. I know non-Canadians can get the VAT refunded when they leave Canada, but there's a certain minimum purchase required.