[at-l] Taxing Food For Thought . . .

[icw@esisnet.com (Clark Wright)]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Ain't tax law great?  I didn't say I liked it, but I sure think if the
darn laws are gonna be out there that they ought to be applied and
enforced fairly - and it just plain ain't fair to have local outdoor
shops penalized because the out of state merchant can flood a local
market with catalogs and internet web sites, and have an inherent 4-9%
price advantage simply because they do not have to collect the sales
tax, and the customer is certainly not gonna volunteer to pay the use
tax when their box arrives from the UPS man . . . taxes suck, but
unevenly applied and enforced taxes suck a whole lot more!

I'll be quiet now on all this - I promise! :)

thru-thinker

Ron Martino wrote:

>>One other legal thing that very few people really know:  Every state
>>that collects sales tax on locall purchased merchandise also has a
>>parallel tax, called the use tax.  What the use tax law says is that if
>>you buy a $300.00 pack mail order from out of state, and the mail order
>>merchant does not collect SALES tax on your purchase, and you then take
>>delivery and "use" the pack in your home state [legally, "use" of the
>>pack includes storing it in your attic - even if only for a week, or
>>using it for a shakedown hike, etc. before hitting the Trail], then you
>>are required to voluntarily file a use tax form and pay the same amount
>>of use tax to your home state as you would have had to pay in sales tax
>>if you bought the item locally.
>>
>
>	You have /got/ to be kidding.
>
>>There are court cases that have prohibited states from forcing all out
>>of state merchants to collect sales tax on every mail order transaction
>>based on commerce clause concerns, etc.  However, every state's use tax
>>remains fully constitutional and in effect, for it only applies to
>>citizens of that state who use non-sales-tax-paid items inside the
>>state's boundaries . . . so, I reckon we are all criminals yet again! :)
>>
>
>>thru-thinker
>>
>
>	Hey, hey, hey! I have paid every cent of use tax required. Heck, I may
>start refusing to pay sales tax in other states, and just assure them
>I'll be filing the appropriate use tax when I get home...
>
>	Ron (go ahead, look up what Montana's sales tax percentage is...)
>--
>
>It is our attitude toward free thought and free expression that will
>determine our fate. There must be no limit on the range of temperate
>discussion, no limits on thought. No subject must be taboo. No censor
>must preside at our assemblies.
>	William O. Douglas
>
>yumitori(AT)montana(DOT)com
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