What does this mean ?

[Jazzy Jay]

Thanks RKnarr01.
I was just curious as to what the verbage meant. If they had simply said, "we're charging $30 for the box and packing material", I would have understood it. I ship things all the time and I know the costs of packaging can be expensive. It just looked a little weird to me thats all. I'm not in their neighborhood anyway, so "pickup" wasn't an option for me. I'm sure they're a highly reliable and dependable company, it was just one of those questions that pop into your head from time to time (along with all of the other voices). Thanks for the input !
Jeff

[RKnarr01]

when you pick machines up you dont get a box and packaging material, atleast i havent.

[arbycoffee]

On my auctions, If the person came and picked up the machine. If they wanted the box I charged $25, with out the box and foam, peanuts and inside foam shrink wrap. than no cost, but sales taxs

[d mowery]

The Shadow is watching

[Czyotto]

Arby when you say you will "charge sales tax". Does that mean that you have a busness that you have to report the sales for?

I could never under stand if you buy from something and pick it up you have to pay sales tax. But if you have it shipped you pay for shipping and no sales tax. I know when I bought a clock kit in GA if I would have taken it I pay sales tax. But I had it shipped and they shipped from AL I payed shipping but it was cheaper then the sales tax. It is so confusing.

RKnarr01 when you pick up a machine from Milt do you pay sales tax?

[RKnarr01]

yes i pay sales tax of 8.25%

you have to pay sales tax unless your buying for re-sale and if your doing that you need a tax id.

you dont pay sales tax if your having it shipped from another state.

[Utopia1dc]

Arby when you say you will "charge sales tax". Does that mean that you have a busness that you have to report the sales for?

I could never under stand if you buy from something and pick it up you have to pay sales tax. But if you have it shipped you pay for shipping and no sales tax. I know when I bought a clock kit in GA if I would have taken it I pay sales tax. But I had it shipped and they shipped from AL I payed shipping but it was cheaper then the sales tax. It is so confusing.

RKnarr01 when you pick up a machine from Milt do you pay sales tax?

The reason sales tax is charged on a local pickup is the sale was made in that state, so the state wants it's share...just like everything else you buy at a store. Internet sales which are from 2 different states (within the same state the sales tax still applies) do not have to pay a sales tax as the transaction is vertual space.

[gwarzin]

The sales tax issue actually gets a bit trickier. A lot of people think that, as long as you are in different states, Internet sales are tax exempt. That's not quite true. When the Federal govt passed legislation banning taxes on the Internet, it wasn't sales tax they banned. It was taxes on Internet access - the kind of taxes states charge you for things like telephone service.

So, the laws that apply to sales tax on Internet purchases are simply the same old laws that apply to catalog sales.

1. If a merchant is making a sale within the same state, they have to collect the sales tax.

2. If they are selling from one state to another, but they have a presence in that other state, they have to collect taxes. This is common for a lot of mail order companies that also have stores in malls. You might live in California and be buying from a seller based in Illinois. But they have stores in California. So they have to collect California sales tax on their mail order sales, even though they are made from Illinois.

3. You are buying from a mail order seller in a different state and he does not have stores in your state. He doesn't have to collect the sales tax. BUT YOU ARE STILL OBLIGATED TO PAY YOUR STATE'S SALES TAX. Most states require that you pay this sales tax when you file your state income tax return. In Indiana they call it a "use tax" and it covers virtually everything that comes in from out of state, unless the seller already collected the sales tax. It even includes magazine subscriptions.

Now, almost everyone just ignores this tax (or doesn't even know about it). Most states never bother to try to collect it. But my prediction is that as Internet sales continue to increase AND the Federal Govt keeps pushing expenses back to the states, AND the economy stays soft, states will begin to actively go after this missing sales tax revenue. The only reason the haven't so far is that they know it's going to upset a lot of people. It would be political suicide for the first public officials that do it.

[Utopia1dc]

g-

Thanks for the explanation on that. I guess I was somewhat on the right track. I do have one question, I just want to make sure I understood correctly. Suppose I buy a Pachislo from say Stealth for $100, he doesn't charge me any tax since he is in NY and I am in PA. My state has a 6% sales tax. What you are saying is that PA is owed $6 in tax (6% of $100)? And I am responsible for paying it when I do my taxes? If so, that bites!

[gwarzin]

Suppose I buy a Pachislo from say Stealth for $100, he doesn't charge me any tax since he is in NY and I am in PA. My state has a 6% sales tax. What you are saying is that PA is owed $6 in tax (6% of $100)? And I am responsible for paying it when I do my taxes? If so, that bites!

You'd have to check you're specific state's laws, but usually that would be the case. You owe them $6. But like I said most people don't bother to pay it, in fact most people don't even know they owe it.

[Tulsa]

The problem with collecting this tax by the states is they are now trying to legislate people from other states and it's likely not going to happen anytime soon. Like Gary said, when the company has a presense in your state, they are already submitting this sales information and collecting your states taxes.

Now for Pennsylvania to lean across it's borders and tell a NY business to start submitting to them all items sold in Penn, is going a bit to far. They have no real enforcible authority over that NY seller. Since its these records that would be necessary for Penn to enforce collection on it's own residents, makes this tax on the honor system. How honorable are you really? Will the people who spout character issues please stand up. Now imagine if your that NY seller and you had to submit quarterly tax statements to all 50 states. It would have to be federally mandated. You would have at the very least a few new people to handle just the paperwork flow and another accountant or two, prices for products are now going skyward.

It's not that the states don't want the revenue, they've tried, it's they can't truly figure out how to implement the policing of it. It would reach so far beyond the businesses and touch every single person selling anything on ebay.

Right now, in most states, you purchase a permit to have a garage sale, again if your the honorable type. This is what the state is counting as its sales tax revenue for that sale of items. To ask the general population to monitor their own garage sales and submit tax statements on it is silly. Not wanting to miss out on the revenue, they decided on the permit system and to call everything else equal.

Something to ponder is this permit system starting to reach across the borders of states and the feds mandating auciton houses like ebay to start collecting these fees or asking for proof from it's sellers they have purchased these permits before allowing them to sell to individuals in particular states.

[gwarzin]

I suspect that if the states decide they really want to go after this money they will just start auditing tax returns. If you paid no "use tax" they will ask for copies of all your charge card statements and you'll end up having to explain each charge that looks like it might be an out of state purchase. Then they'll be able to hit you with not only the tax, but penalty and interest as well.

They'll do this to a few thousand people. It will make the news. People will protest. The state will announce an amnesty program and say that anyone that files an amended return within the 90 days won't have to pay the penalty and interest and the money will start rolling in.

[Tulsa]

** NOTE TO SELF **

Open Swiss bank account.

[Czyotto]

I could never under stand if you buy from something and pick it up you have to pay sales tax. But if you have it shipped you pay for shipping and no sales tax. I know when I bought a clock kit in GA if I would have taken it I pay sales tax. But I had it shipped and they shipped from AL I payed shipping but it was cheaper then the sales tax. It is so confusing.

RKnarr01 when you pick up a machine from Milt do you pay sales tax?

Utopia1dc; I think that if you buy a machine from Milt and you pick it up. But you are from PA you still have to pay sales tax to Milt. But maybe if you have it shipped you don't pay sales tax. If you ask Gwarzin or Davis what happens when they go to Ohio to pick up machines?

[Tulsa]

If you buy it locally, you pay whatever the prevailing rate on sales tax is regardless of your residence. So if they pay it local, so do you, local. Now when I go to Minneapolis, I go clothes shopping as they have no sales tax on clothing. Locals don't pay it, neither do you..

[RKnarr01]

Regardless of where you live if you go and pick a machine up from milt you will have to pay sales tax

If you live in NY and have a machine shipped you will pay the sales tax of Rochester, NY.

If you live out of state and have a machine shipped you will not pay sales tax.

[d mowery]

Tulsa - Do you have a pasport to come here to Minneapolis - I must notify the border patrol , any way Have a good trip and dont buy up the Mall of America
Don

[Tulsa]

I go there sometimes. Every hear of a company called Honeywell?

[d mowery]

Yes - I hear they make some kind of thermostats
Only pulling yer leg , Very well aquintated with them , Give me a call next time in town , Maby we can grab a lunch or coffie, I live on the north sub of Minneapolis in Andover shoot me a PM and I will send my cell number
Don
I promas I won't wear my overalls at least the ones with patches

[Tulsa]

I'll pm you the next time I know I'm headed that way.