Ordered Christmas present from Amazon and had to pay 11% TAX! (Phoenix: for sale, 2015)

[Bungle]

If it ain't Prime it ain't worth buyin'

[grassfeeder]

makes the Amazon Prime look like a better deal with free 2-day shipping if they're going to continue to charge shipping plus tax on the shipped rate.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Bummer

This may go over like a "lead balloon" but . . . I believe Amazon should be charging the same Sales Tax as the local retail shop should and would be charging.

Known as "leveling the playing field".

However, I also believe the local Native American Reservation Shops (primarily Tobacco and Alcohol products) should be required to charge the same Sales Tax unless the product is fully consumed on the reservation.

What's wrong with everyone paying their fair share?

Ha ha.. hahaha...

/nope.

You can feel free to pay your fair share, I'm looking for a loophole and/or special treatment.

[NJBest]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

Ordered Christmas present from Amazon and had to pay 11% TAX! I have never, ever had this happen before.

Did you live in Oregon or Delaware in the past? Almost all states have taxes on purchased goods.

[Jukesgrrl]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Then that's weird. I just checked my last few Amazon purchases and I was either charged no sales tax or 7.95% (Scottsdale). I don't know where they're getting 11% from. Yours should be 8.3%.

When I sold furniture in Tucson, our customers were charged tax based on the location of the facility from where the furniture was shipped. Our warehouse was in the City of Tucson, therefore City tax was charged (it was 8.1% when I worked there). It made no difference where in Arizona the purchaser lived or which one of our five locations sold the customer the item. Buyers from Chandler paid the same tax a customer from Sierra Vista paid.

Our customers from Sonora also paid the same tax. Their purchases couldn't be shipped across the border by us. They either had to pick up their furniture at the warehouse and drive it across the border themselves, or we would have it shipped to the warehouse of their choice in Nogales and they would pick it up there or have it delivered to their home by that border warehouse (there are businesses in Nogales just for that purpose). But they paid tax on their purchases to the City of Tucson.

Many items purchased from Amazon these days go to the buyer directly from the manufacturer or a brick and mortar retail site not even owned by Amazon; Amazon merely acts as a kind of middleman purchasing agent. It seems to me the OP could have received the item from anywhere in the country that has an 11% tax. As far as the "no tax" goes, there are some states where items that would be taxable here are not taxed. An example: Pennsylvania has no tax on clothing or shoes. Amazon has a warehouse near Hershey, PA, for example, so it's within the realm of possibility that if you purchased an item of clothing shipped from there, that would be the reason a buyer would be charged no tax.

I'm not aware if they still exist, but for many years there were some states that charged no tax on mail-order purchases. Ohio was one. My parents, who lived in Western Pennsylvania, would always go across the border to Ohio when they needed to buy furniture or appliances. If they took an item home from the store they paid tax, but if they had it delivered to them in PA it counted as an "order" so they were not charged tax. Needless to say, they saved a lot over the years buying their big ticket items that way. I wouldn't be surprised to find that's not legal today.

Since the advent of the computer, it's much easier for governments to track taxes they are owed from companies fulfilling mail/delivery orders. Many companies that failed to charge taxes in years past because they were rarely collected no doubt do so now.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

When I sold furniture in Tucson, our customers were charged tax based on the location of the facility from where the furniture was shipped. Our warehouse was in the City of Tucson, therefore City tax was charged (it was 8.1% when I worked there). It made no difference where in Arizona the purchaser lived or which one of our five locations sold the customer the item. Buyers from Chandler paid the same tax a customer from Sierra Vista paid.

Our customers from Sonora also paid the same tax. Their purchases couldn't be shipped across the border by us. They either had to pick up their furniture at the warehouse and drive it across the border themselves, or we would have it shipped to the warehouse of their choice in Nogales and they would pick it up there or have it delivered to their home by that border warehouse (there are businesses in Nogales just for that purpose). But they paid tax on their purchases to the City of Tucson.

Many items purchased from Amazon these days go to the buyer directly from the manufacturer or a brick and mortar retail site not even owned by Amazon; Amazon merely acts as a kind of middleman purchasing agent. It seems to me the OP could have received the item from anywhere in the country that has an 11% tax. As far as the "no tax" goes, there are some states where items that would be taxable here are not taxed. An example: Pennsylvania has no tax on clothing or shoes. Amazon has a warehouse near Hershey, PA, for example, so it's within the realm of possibility that if you purchased an item of clothing shipped from there, that would be the reason a buyer would be charged no tax.

I'm not aware if they still exist, but for many years there were some states that charged no tax on mail-order purchases. Ohio was one. My parents, who lived in Western Pennsylvania, would always go across the border to Ohio when they needed to buy furniture or appliances. If they took an item home from the store they paid tax, but if they had it delivered to them in PA it counted as an "order" so they were not charged tax. Needless to say, they saved a lot over the years buying their big ticket items that way. I wouldn't be surprised to find that's not legal today.

Since the advent of the computer, it's much easier for governments to track taxes they are owed from companies fulfilling mail/delivery orders. Many companies that failed to charge taxes in years past because they were rarely collected no doubt do so now.

Amazon charges sales tax based on the destination of the shipment:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...?nodeId=468512

The OP wasn't actually charged 11% tax. He was taxed on the shipping and handling fee as well as the purchase price and thus he calculated the tax to be 11% of the price when factoring in sales tax on the shipping.

[teddyearp]

The thing about Sales tax is that it is actually a Sales and Use tax. Meaning it is a tax on where the items is going to be used. Of late, many states have been cracking down on online sellers to charge the tax based on the destination of the product.

I had a guy come into my store in WA a week or so ago and tell me he didn't have to pay sales tax since he has a Montana license. I informed him it was a use tax as well and could he assure me that he was going to take those nails and screws straight to Montana and use them there? He said no, I apologized and said no and he went from 0 to a-hole in 0.0 seconds.

Had he not, I probably would have taken the $.35 from the drawer and called it a day. But it is tough being a business owner when someone comes in and cusses you up one side and down the other telling you how to run your business.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by NJBest

Which means he still owes tax on the purchased item...

What do you mean?

[NJBest]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

What do you mean?

I misread the post.... It looks like amazon collects tax in Arizona. 11% sounds outrageous.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by NJBest

I misread the post.... It looks like amazon collects tax in Arizona. 11% sounds outrageous.

Again, it wasn't truly 11% sales tax. Our sales tax rate here ranges from high 7% to low 8% (varies by city).