"You people are killing me!" (sales tax, again)

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Haha. Got you all beat- we pay 13%.

You're in Ontario, aren't you?

Remember it used be 15%?

[EvilEmpryss]

Delaware: 0.0% tax.

North Carolina is at 6.75 to 7.25%, depending on which county you live in. Not too bad. Every year they hold a tax-free back-to-school sale every year that really brings out the hoards. I don't choose to get caught up in the BS, though: I can get better than a 7% sale after that and not have to fight the mobs! I feel really bad for the poor cashiers who have to work that mess.

[Racket_Man]

I only pay 6% where I am (Michigan) but I spend a lot of time visiting friends in Chicago where it's 10.25% in the actual city... and the suburbs aren't too much cheaper depending on where you area. Illinois sale tax is really confusing too...

yup that area is very fragmented. city is higher than the Cook County suburbs but if you go outside of Cook County ...... well I am not sure anymore

THank goodness that we have only a base tax of 5.5% ...... but in our county we have the infamous PACKER TAX of (I think) where we add another 0.5% or something like that

[MelodiousBubbles]

Everyone here is giving me ammo for the next time I have a tourist bitching about our sales tax. We only have a 5% tax, people! That's seriously not that bad. Just round up to the nearest dollar and add 5 cents for every dollar before you bring it up to counter. Nine times out of ten, you overestimate the tax and are pleasantly surprised when it's less.

I usually just tell people that we're about a half hour, maybe twenty minute drive from NH, so if the tax is so unbearable, the border is that way.

[BookstoreEscapee]

You know, I hadn't thought about going to a different area for a big purchase before. Sales tax is 7% in NJ, but there's a few areas that are half tax to try to keep people spending in NJ instead of heading into NYC. I used to live in one of those areas...it was really nice having such low tax. Wonder what would be worth the hour drive for the sales tax difference...

But NYC is higher than NJ, anyway, isn't it? Last I checked it was 8.something.
I don't live all that far from NYC (maybe an hour to Manhattan but that's with traffic) but it's never even occurred to me to travel there just to go shopping. Too much traffic...during the week I have to fight the commuters just to cross the highway to go the other way, because they don't get the concept of stopping at the line when it is clear that they will get stuck in the intersection. Then the light changes and the people on trying to cross over can't.

[XCashier]

sneaks away and looks up the definition of sales tax. We have none in montana.

None in Oregon either, though that might change soon.

[LadyAndreca]

But NYC is higher than NJ, anyway, isn't it? Last I checked it was 8.something.
I don't live all that far from NYC (maybe an hour to Manhattan but that's with traffic) but it's never even occurred to me to travel there just to go shopping. Too much traffic...during the week I have to fight the commuters just to cross the highway to go the other way, because they don't get the concept of stopping at the line when it is clear that they will get stuck in the intersection. Then the light changes and the people on trying to cross over can't.

Oh, sure, NYC is a bit higher. (8.375%?) But I didn't DRIVE there to go shopping, I didn't have a car. I hopped the PATH train, which dropped me off right at the mall on 33rd street. From there it was an easy walk to any shop I wanted to go to. Actually having all the shops you wanted to go to and being easy to get to trumped the few extra cents of sales tax.

Now I live a little over an hour away, not counting traffic. It's not worth it, even if I do miss a couple of the little stores I found tucked here and there. There's just no good gaming stores around here.

[poofy_puff]

It doesn't work quite as well as you might hope. Around here, even if you buy an item in New Hampshire (no sales tax), you're required to pay the tax on it (6%) when you bring it back to Maine. This makes a CERTAIN amount of sense - there wouldn't be a car dealership north of Kittery if they didn't do it like that - but it's kind of a pain in the ass. God only knows how they enforce it. (To be fair, it's probably just for purchases above a certain amount. It's late and I'm too lazy to look it up.)

Love, Who?

If you're talking about CARS, the way they get you is when you go to register the vehicle. It's the same way in Massachusetts. They collect the tax at the RMV if you can't prove that you paid it some other way.

When it comes to items that do not need to be registered in order to use them, such as TV's, furniture, and whatever else you can pick up and carry and/or use in the privacy of your own home, consumers ARE supposed to pay sales-tax if it is intended for use in the state which levys the tax. However, there is really no way to enforce this law in a cost-effective manner.

There is an interesting caveat about ordering things by mail (or UPS, Fedex, etc.). If you live in a state that has a sales-tax, the only way you WILL be CHARGED sales tax is if the company you are ordering from has a retail store that you can walk into in the same state (at least this is true in Mass).

Not every internet merchant actually DOES that though. Barnes and Noble, for example has sold things to me online and did not charge sales tax, even though there are plenty of B&N stores in my state.

[KiaKat]

New York just went up. 8.875%. No complaints yet, though we rarely get price complaints, since our margins are slightly lower than most other specialty wine stores in the city.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Barnes and Noble, for example has sold things to me online and did not charge sales tax, even though there are plenty of B&N stores in my state.

Recently? I thought they had stopped doing that...then again I don't order much online.

Oh, sure, NYC is a bit higher. (8.375%?) But I didn't DRIVE there to go shopping, I didn't have a car. I hopped the PATH train, which dropped me off right at the mall on 33rd street.

Ah. See, I would have to drive just to get to the PATH. I do have a bus stop on Rt 9 that I could walk to from my apartment complex, but the last thing I want to do is sit on a bus to NY.

[EricKei]

8.75% where I am, 9.25% in town (New Orleans)

The one thing we do have going for us -- for the relatively small %age of people who own houses -- is the Homestead Exemption. The first $75 grand of a home's value is not subject to tax -- Yes, this means that, if your house is worth less than that, you don't pay property taxes at all. Then again, it also means you probably live in a really, really small place >_< That's wonderful if it's just one person, but not so hot for a family.

[MsCrankypants]

There is an interesting caveat about ordering things by mail (or UPS, Fedex, etc.). If you live in a state that has a sales-tax, the only way you WILL be CHARGED sales tax is if the company you are ordering from has a retail store that you can walk into in the same state (at least this is true in Mass).

Not every internet merchant actually DOES that though. Barnes and Noble, for example has sold things to me online and did not charge sales tax, even though there are plenty of B&N stores in my state.

Lush doesn't do it either - there are quite a few Lush stores in my home state, but I ordered from their website last night and didn't get charged sales tax - only shipping. In fact, I rarely, if ever, get charged sales tax on my online orders (the only company I can think of offhand that does is Sephora - I'm sure there are more, but they're not coming to mind).

It doesn't bother me to pay sales tax, though. It's not like it's an entirely foreign concept, and I just accept it as the cost of doing business/fulfilling my addictions.

[StarsAreFixed]

What the hell is sales tax? Is it VAT (value added tax..on all clothing leisure and technical purchases except for children's shoes?). In which case, it is 21.5% here, I think it's the highest in the EU. It is however included in all marked prices (it should be illegal to price goods minus a tax) and all non-EU residents can claim it back. Rip-off though.

[AccountingDrone]

Lush doesn't do it either - there are quite a few Lush stores in my home state, but I ordered from their website last night and didn't get charged sales tax - only shipping. In fact, I rarely, if ever, get charged sales tax on my online orders (the only company I can think of offhand that does is Sephora - I'm sure there are more, but they're not coming to mind).

It doesn't bother me to pay sales tax, though. It's not like it's an entirely foreign concept, and I just accept it as the cost of doing business/fulfilling my addictions.

villainess.com also makes some fantastic smelling soaps ... and with certain $ orders you get to order samples of other scents.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

New York just went up. 8.875%. No complaints yet, though we rarely get price complaints, since our margins are slightly lower than most other specialty wine stores in the city.

That's higher than what we have here in NC. Currently, we're at 7.5%, but effective September 1, it goes up another .5 to an even 8%.

AFAIK, food will remain unchanged at 2%. I don't hear much grumbling, but then I work in a grocery store. I'm sure folks who work in other retail categories are probably getting more complaints on the matter.