Avoiding Sales Tax?

[carockwell]

Is there any way to avoid paying sales tax on mail order items? In the old days if I ordered something from out of state, I never had to pay sales tax. Now I am always paying the California sales tax, no matter where the the store was located.

[Ted]

You pay sales tax if the place from which you are buying has a physical presence in your home state. Five years ago I could order from LL Beans with no sales tax. They opened an outlet in my state, now I pay sales tax regardless if I buy online from Maine or head over to Tyson's Corner to the store.

[carockwell]

I am aware of the "we have a store in your state" syndrome. It also seems to me that ALL internet sales get taxed. Is this true? Is there an exception if you phone your order in?

[Newstar]

Here in Delaware, we have no sales tax. If I purchase something online, I do not pay sales tax as long regardless of the state that the merchant is in. I think it's tied to where you live, isn't it?

[pffog]

I am aware of the "we have a store in your state" syndrome. It also seems to me that ALL internet sales get taxed. Is this true? Is there an exception if you phone your order in?

California, like NY state are pushing internet stores to collect state sales tax now. They use to get away with not, but failing budgets are causing them to squeeze every red cent they can from us.

[kantuckid]

ITS COMING! The lowered revenues have the politicos looking hard at ways to provide them with your money to do you favors! On a big ticket item , like say a camera you could have somebody else buy it and the mail it to you or some version of that idea. Here in KY you are supposed to pay the tax with your income tax and I don't and suspect few do... On the big box stuff like Best buy, you are had as they cast a large tax shadow.

[35634]

here in OH we don't pay sales tax on out of state vendors at time of purchase, but are
supposed to declare such purchases on our state income tax.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ! ! ! !

[osbornk]

here in OH we don't pay sales tax on out of state vendors at time of purchase, but are
supposed to declare such purchases on our state income tax.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ! ! ! !

Same here in Virginia and I think most other states.

[Ridealot]

What is this "Sales Tax" crap you guys are talking about :scratch

In Oregon we don't need no stinking sales tax. :whistle

[barryg]

Americans are probably paying in the vicinity of 50% of their income in some form of tax; local, state, and federal. Many taxes hidden in various forms. Any way to avoid them is good in my opinion.

[35634]

Americans are probably paying in the vicinity of 50% of their income in some form of tax; local, state, and federal. Many taxes hidden in various forms. Any way to avoid them is good in my opinion.

Don't forget real estate, social security, excise taxes and might as well include my HMO
deductions from my paycheck. Then include mandatory insurances, like auto, house and
bike, and then throw in life ins. and contributions to 401k's or other retirement plans (don't want to die poor, do we?) :banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead

[SheRidesABeemer]

Move to New Hampshire...no sales, no income tax...

[barryg]

Yall got room for an extra 300 million folks.

[osbornk]

Move to New Hampshire...no sales, no income tax...

But it's cold up there.

[35634]

But it's cold up there.

Alaska is even colder and pays it's residents instead of taxing them. Is there some
kind of connection there:scratch

[BlueStreak]

OK, but what you do need is to get rid of that can't-pump-your-own-gas law! :usa:

In Oregon we don't need no stinking sales tax. :whistle

[henzilla]

OK, but what you do need is to get rid of that can't-pump-your-own-gas law! :usa:

seriously? Was somewhere last summer where the guy said it was The Law...Canada maybe? I still took the nozzle away after he spilt fuel on me.
Here in Texas you see little kids pumping gas:dunno

[bubbagazoo]

seriously? Was somewhere last summer where the guy said it was The Law...Canada maybe? I still took the nozzle away after he spilt fuel on me.
Here in Texas you see little kids pumping gas:dunno

Wasn't Canada. I'm not aware of any place in Canada that has this type of ordinance on the books. In fact, you have to look really hard to find any place that will do the pumping for you regardless of your vehicle type.

[flars]

You can't pump your own gas in New Jersey (I think) or Oregon, but attendants in NJ are pretty lax about it.
Taxes - a good thing. When I moved from Va to FL, I needed a new VCR when I got here. So I called my old reliable dealer in Va to order one. Shortly after getting the device, I got a notice from FL saying I owed tax on the item because I was allowing it to 'co-mingle' with similar devices here in FL. I tried to tell them that I never let it go outside unless on a leash, but they wanted their money anyway.

The sales tax thing is probably a Californistan law. The way you guys spend money, Ahnold needs to find new sources of state revenue. Luxury tax on speeding tickets is probably next.

[Bob_M]

[QUOTE=ima4nr;468699]Somebody needs to confirm this...QUOTE]

It is still the law that attendents pump gas. I have NEVER allowed an attendent to fill my motorcycle, and have never had one insist that they must obey that law. They lift the nozzle for you and punch a code and walk away.

In my car, on rainy days it is very civilized to have a pump jockey fill my car.

Avoiding sales tax? thread hijack alert

[Ted]

The very last time I let someone else fill my motorcycle it erupted in flames about 200 yards away as I was going up an onramp to the Spaulding Highway (first day into a 3-week trip to Nova Scotia.) Luckily I had just bought two big water bottles and was able to put it out immediately with the only damage being a slightly singed Aerostich leg and an easily fixed melted ground wire. Turned out for some odd reason the PO had removed the "air accumulator", a little cup at the rear underside of the tanks on K75s that is supposed to vent excess gas down a tube to behind the footpeg. With this missing and the attendant topping off the tank to totally full, the excess gas just splashed all over the engine.

A guy on a Harley stopped (nertz to the BMW guys who ignored my "need help" waving hands and sped by) and helped me check it out for damage, and the BMW shop in Maine had the air accumulator and tube in stock.

(K75 Owners, make sure some idiot PO hasn't removed part #5 below :D)
http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMid/B0000402.png

[widebmw]

I did a search and found this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On June 11, 2001, Oregon motorcyclists won the right to pump their own gas. Governor John Kitzhaber signed House Bill 3885 into law, which gives motorcyclists the choice of fueling their own bikes. Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states which prohibit "Self-Serve" gas pumps, and now motorcycles will be the only class of vehicle allowed to actually dispense fuel into their own tanks in Oregon, effective January 1, 2002.

HB3885 passed with very few opposed in both the House and Senate, and most lawmakers agreed with BikePAC and Oregon's motorcyclists that the special fueling requirements of various bikes made the rider the expert at fuel dispensing. This bill also removes a liability for gas station owners who permitted the common sense practice of allowing bikers to fuel their own.

[OfficerImpersonator]

What is this "Sales Tax" crap you guys are talking about :scratch

In Oregon we don't need no stinking sales tax. :whistle

But you DO have an income tax.

And yes, you still have to have someone pump your gas into your cage for you in Oregon. Apparently Oregonians can't be trusted to properly operate a gas pump unless they also ride a motorcycle.

[Ridealot]

OK, but what you do need is to get rid of that can't-pump-your-own-gas law! :usa:

Just to let all of you know. The can't pump your own gas law has been gone for several years now.

I liked the law. It was fun to watch all the confused foreigners from other states. And even when we had the law in 25 years I never once had the attendent not just hand me the nozzle.

Yessiree, we had a don't pump your own gas law. Mainly to keep high school kids in a job. But you guys get the great sales tax .:nyah Ya got us again. :wave

[Ridealot]

But you DO have an income tax.

And yes, you still have to have someone pump your gas into your cage for you in Oregon. Apparently Oregonians can't be trusted to properly operate a gas pump unless they also ride a motorcycle.

Its just the foreigners from the other states we don't trust. :nyah

[OfficerImpersonator]

Just to let all of you know. The can't pump your own gas law has been gone for several years now.

I liked the law. It was fun to watch all the confused foreigners from other states. And even when we had the law in 25 years I never once had the attendent not just hand me the nozzle.

Yessiree, we had a don't pump your own gas law. Mainly to keep high school kids in a job. But you guys get the great sales tax .:nyah Ya got us again. :wave

To avoid confusion, you still need an attendant to pump the gas into your cage. Only motorcycles are exempt from this requirement. I completely forgot about the law until I got yelled at by an attendant in late April for having the audacity to pump my own gas along I-84 just west of Ontario, Oregon. The kid was good natured about it, as we were about 20 miles from the Idaho border and he was likely used to people unfamiliar with the requirement.