Did anyone else just have Amazon charge them tax? WTH?! Just when I was thinking about sticking with another year of Prime they pull this stunt?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_tax#Colorado It's not Amazon, it's the state, and it looks like your state just started collecting Amazon tax this month. I remember the rule used to be that if Amazon had a physical presence in the state, the state would apply tax. It looks like some states may have expanded that, though.
Looks like they started adding sales tax in CO on the first of this month. They use to not charge sales tax in Florida, but when they built those warehouses here in 2014 that all changed.
Yeah, we had tax on Amazon kick in a few years back in California. It is a rude awakening at first, but you get used to it. I still buy as much from Amazon as I ever did.
They have for some time. As others pointed out. Buy from a third party Amazon seller if you can. They typically do not charge tax.
I try to look for 3rd party sellers that have Amazon ship there products. If 3rd party is out of state then I get the benefit of free 2-day prime shipping AND no tax. Of course make sure the price isn't more than Amazon price even with Amazon tax. A quick way to see which seller will charge you tax is to click on the more buying options and it will list all buying options including shipping price (if any) and how much tax (if any).
Charging tax is a "stunt?" Makes sense, much like duties and import taxes, it's not the retailer, it's the state/country/what have you. That is where that money goes after all.
Amazon's been charging tax in Canada since I've been shopping with them. How'd they get away with not charging tax? That seems like a massive loss-leader...
Its not a loss for Amazon, it was a loss for the states. For the longest time Amazon argued that it was the individual buyer's responsibility to report their online purchases to the state and pay the state tax accordingly. Of course, very few people actually did this and there is no way for the state to figure who bought what online and how much tax is due. So the various states forced Amazon to start collecting tax and paying the state said tax.
I've been just the opposite - I bought less and less over the years since then. No one should "get use to" government BS. That's what they count on, and how they screw us over as much as they do now, especially in this state...
Correction Amazon has been collecting taxes in states that they had/have a physical presence in for years. It's only in the last couple years it has continued to spread because at the end of the day someone is responsible for those taxes. If not collected you are to record it when u do your taxes if your state has a sales tax if u want to be official about it. Which of course I know we all do.
"Amazon is not charging tax!!" They aren't? Sweet! Better stock up on-- *rant about how Amazon is charging tax* Oh.
Getting kinda political here. Sales tax serves a purpose. And it's not like you weren't being charged it before Amazon came along. For some reason I thought Amazon had given up on the "physical presence" argument a while back, because they are so big. Guess not. You do need to be careful when buying big ticket items from out of state to avoid tax. States are cracking down on that. My father got in trouble for buying a tractor from the neighboring state and not paying sales tax.
That's why cash is king, lots harder to track and no easy to follow paper trail as long as you remove it to/from banks in increments under $5k at a time. Makes lots of thins possible.
That's a good question. Wish we could've got this loophole or whatever but hey, I don't mind paying my dues. I know, that confused me. I'm gonna guess he meant to say they were and flubbed.
I'm well aware of that. All too often, the tax increases in this state are squandered. How many times do you see the phrase "take my money," when a new TF product comes out? Well, when we vote for things which claim to go towards one thing and then DON'T get used for that, and we continue to have an "oh well" type of attitude, we might as well say "take my money" to the government. Why? Why be OK with people squandering our tax dollars? <--- that's my point, and it's definitely one which is more than valid.
Yeah, at first, it was only where Amazon had a brick and mortar bldg., then as their sales within all the states grew, of course, those who noticed sales taxes leaving the states said whoa, we must collect those taxes.... HSN and QVC are another big whse retailer that had to the same thing.... whether they had brick bldgs./ distribution centers or not. TN collecting sales tax kicked in a couple of years ago, and like others who've posted, it doesn't take long to notice they are plenty of 3rd party/marketplace partners that Amazon.com uses that won't charge tax, so in some case you can save another (in TN) 10% sales tax. Win. I buy from as many reputable partners on there as I can, they mostly have free shipping w/o being a Prime member, so more savings. For me, it's better selection, better/cheaper prices and I don't have to drive a 100 miles to find the item is out of stock anyway. Yay.
