OT: tax on internet purchase 3564

Jean-David Beyer

That's also the case in MA, but until recently there was no easy way to pay any tax you owed. Recently (I forget when), you can report such purchases on your income tax return and pay it then. And yes, I have reported and paid tax on items I have bought out of state. I know probably 99% of the world thinks that's idiotic, but I don't.

Well, it's nastier than that. I have a resale certificate for MA. If I sell to you in New Jersey, I'm not required to collect NJ sales tax because I have no physical presence in New Jersey and the courts have held that it is unreasonable for me to have to comply with different state's requirements if I don't have a physical presence there. And it would be quite a burden for a small business like mine, which might have only two or three sales in a particular state per year, or maybe even none at all for some years.

But if I buy from a distributor who DOES have a physical presence in my customer's state, and I want it drop-shipped to them, the distributor will charge me sales tax for that state because I only have a resale certificate for MA. That's not right, but like you, I don't have the money to take it to Federal court either.

So, depending on the circumstances, it may be cheaper for me to have it shipped to me in MA and then reship it - an absolutely ridiculous action.

-- Tony Lawrence