[MRVphotog]

Most states have sales tax which is revenue for that state so if you buy in NH or any other state that has sales tax and a neighboring state that does not. The lost revenue has to be made up somewhere.

If never ceases to amaze me how folks in Vermont buy in NH and then complain about Vermont taxes/fees. Vermont loses over 100m/year in sales tax revenue from Vermonters who buy in NH. Support the state you live in, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

[flu189]

To anyone that has been following the threads in the Vermont forum and done some independent reading and research it should come as no surprise what our economic situation is here, meaning cost of living and taxes. Yeah, some get a warm and fuzzy glow feeling that all that money goes to good use, but when you really look at the budgets, the shell games in diverting funds, and spending increases for non essentials during difficult times, it should send a chill through you. As far as NH prices, no I have not experienced the retailers across the border jacking prices to stiff Vermonters. On the contrary, I actually see prices much lower depending on products and services which induces Vermonters to border cross. I don't routinely go to NH to make purchases, but when visiting relatives I sure do make a shopping list. Don't forget, you have to tally up all your NH purchases and pay Vermont that tax due as if you had bought the stuff here.

[NYLIER]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

Most states have sales tax which is revenue for that state so if you buy in NH or any other state that has sales tax and a neighboring state that does not. The lost revenue has to be made up somewhere.

If never ceases to amaze me how folks in Vermont buy in NH and then complain about Vermont taxes/fees. Vermont loses over 100m/year in sales tax revenue from Vermonters who buy in NH. Support the state you live in, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Please explain why we can't have our cake and eat it too? If VT business owners want VTers to buy their products then they should keep the prices lower. If VTers are traveling longer distances for products that are available to them around the corner, VT business owners are doing a disservice to the locals.
My husband would rather shop at Nobles Hardware in Rutland then Home Depot because they have a wide variety of products and are sometimes less expensive. Why are they capable of keeping the prices down but the local hardware store in Fairhaven can't? If you work in a retail store you are lucky if you get over $8.00 an hour so you can't say it is because they are paying their employees well. When a product is made in VT there is no middle man involved. So why are the prices so high?
If the cake you are referring to is the beautiful mountain views, I pay a lot of tax for that view. If you can afford or would rather spend your hard earned money in VT that's great, but don't frown on the person that doesn't want too. We reside in VT but we also live in the United States of America.

[NYLIER]

Originally Posted by flu189

Don't forget, you have to tally up all your NH purchases and pay Vermont that tax due as if you had bought the stuff here.

Please explain flu189.

[vter]

Regarding what flu said, technically you are supposed to claim and pay taxes on any items you buy in NH (or any other state that has lower sales tax) when you file your taxes every year. I doubt people do it though. I believe the State has in the past gone after folks who have bought big ticket items in NH for the tax (maybe flu or someone else can explain how they go about doing this).

[GypsySoul22]

I'm going to say it again...there is no where to shop here in this part of Vermont unless you think I am going to P&G's dumpy and high priced supermarket on Route 4 (think inner city store, poor quality high prices) or the Co-ops (nice in theory, expensive in reality) or the local country store (hey, how about one of those big Vermont smiles I hear so much about??) for my eggs and milk (at inflated prices).

We have no clothing stores, no appliance stores, nothing, apart from overpriced (sorry) Mom and Pop places.

No, wait, there is an Ace Hardware up the road in Norwich. Maybe I can do my full shopping there

If Vermont wants to get into the game, offer up some chain stores/competitive prices or continue to see us border folks heading over to NH.

[flu189]

Originally Posted by NYLIER

Please explain flu189.

Vermont law, as do most other states who levy taxes, require you to pay the sales tax on merchandise you buy tax free, be it from NH or via the internet. I venture to say most folks do not comply. The state dept of taxation has staff that follow this and attempt to identify those who do not pay to include actually making physical observations across the state line (this info from my tax man who for decades has made some pretty interesting contacts within the state). Regarding the implied moral requirement to buy here to support this state. I have no problem buying products and services locally if they serve my needs. One of needs at times is to be able to get the best price possible for sheer fiscal reasons. As far as the border proximity folks who do their routine shopping in NH. It is a free county and one of the benefits of such freedoms is the ability to travel and conduct commerce with whom ever you choose. By virtue of limited choices many shopping options both exist only over state lines or via the internet. Vermont has all ten fingers in your pocket from an all encompassing system of taxes and fees. If they truly cared about generating more local sales for businesses they would allow for growth of business and create a financial incentive for folks to support said local merchants. For example. The vast majority of folks require vehicles. We tax the full amount of the purchase price, unlike many other states which cap the tax to a dollar amount of the price due to it being such a significant expenditure. Granted the system does not let you escape this tax as it will be collected upon registering the vehicle here. I understand as well as anybody how the state needs revenue to operate, but I also understand that the amounts spent and for what they are spent could be much more efficiently structured and in vast cases be trimmed. The history of our fiscal policy shows that in good times we basically just increased spending for the sake of spending and then even added more spending on top of the revenue. We shall see with the advent of the new year how serious the state will be to cull out excess and bring us into a more reasonable balance.

[nhrocky]

yep, you're supposed to enter what you owe for use tax for items purchased in another state or online on line 27 of your VT Income Tax Return

From the instruction booklet

"Line 27 Use Tax (FOR FULL-YEAR AND PART-YEAR RESIDENTS) Use
this line to report Use Tax except as noted below. Use Tax applies to
purchases that are subject to sales tax on which sales tax has not been
charged. This includes purchases from a mail-order house or catalog, over
the Internet, from an out-of-state retailer, or from any retailer who did not
charge sales tax. No Use Tax is due on purchases of food, clothing,
prescriptions, or newspapers. Tax applies to most other products
including, but not limited to, magazine subscriptions, computers, computer
software, furniture, jewelry, audio, video and electronic equipment.
Examples: In May 2007, you paid $200 for software delivered through a
download to your computer. The company charges no sales tax. You
need to report $12.00 Use Tax ($200 x 6%). In July 2007, you paid $100
for books purchased from a mail-order company that ships the books to
your VT home. The company charges $7.50 shipping. The company
charges no sales tax. You owe $6.45 Use Tax [($100 + $7.50) x 6%].
You may use the Use Tax Reporting Table if you do not have receipts to
calculate the actual Use Tax. The option to use the reporting table applies
only to purchases less than $1,000. NOTE: For each purchase with a
total invoice amount of $1,000 or more, you must calculate the use tax
and, if also using the reporting table, add that amount to the tax from the
table."

[arel]

That is amazing.

I would think collection relies mostly on the honor system. But I've been told that most people ignore this law.

How is it enforced?

[flu189]

Originally Posted by arel

That is amazing.

I would think collection relies mostly on the honor system. But I've been told that most people ignore this law.

How is it enforced?

If you admit to non payment such as on a site like this this message will probably be forwarded to Montpelier for followup investigation. Seriously though, the state does have mechanisms in place to try and track accounts and purchases, some of through cooperation with over the border retailers and also with internet retailers. Judging by the amount of such transactions and the limited means to track them (afterall, there are only 24 hours in a day), I imagine the state targets certain businesses and individuals to focus on where the chance to recoup due taxes would make it worthwhile. Speaking of taxes, I did a bit of research into our most expensive drain on revenue and it seems that via Act 60 and Act 68 the legislature has virtually doomed any methods to rein in the costs, unless of course the Acts are repealed which is extremely unlikely. Of course we could wait and then like our big brother, California, declare a "fiscal emergency" which happened today. Looks like Cali has achieved the fiscal counterpart to the China Syndrome. Let's hope we can avoid that here.