Buying on-line is NOT tax-free

[Cheese]

I always inquire about a cash discount and 50%-75% of the time I receive one.

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

Be careful with the cash discount.  There is a couple things wrong with cash especially when getting work done on your house.

The contractor that accepts cash in my option is hiding something.  They may not have workers comp/liability insurance.  Not having that insurance will make the job about 30% cheaper.  Major problem if someone gets hurt on your project or they do bad work or damage something. 

The other thing they maybe trying to hide is illegal employees.  A legitimate company cannot hire or pay someone that doesn't have the right documentation proving they are legal.  If you pay them cash they can then pay illegal workers for the work and have no paper trail.

 

[Corwin]

Oh, yes, let's make it easy for others to not pay their taxes. That ought to work out well.  [huh]

 

[sancho57]

Personally,
I have no problem paying my taxes.

But I also look for every legal loophole not to.

If its legal then I have no problems.

In his book John Madden talked about his coaching style in What he called "My Fair Advantage" If there isn't no law against it or its with in the rules, then its legal.

I believe in taking my fair advantage.

No different then buying items from a company that offers free shipping over one that doesn't, if they don't but will if I order over a certain amount then I wait till I can make a large enough order to get the free shipping.

As long as its legal no reason not to save a few quid

 

[Kev]

Personally,
I have no problem paying my taxes.

But I also look for every legal loophole not to.

If its legal then I have no problems.

In his book John Madden talked about his coaching style in What he called "My Fair Advantage" If there isn't no law against it or its with in the rules, then its legal.

I believe in taking my fair advantage.

No different then buying items from a company that offers free shipping over one that doesn't, if they don't but will if I order over a certain amount then I wait till I can make a large enough order to get the free shipping.

As long as its legal no reason not to save a few quid

[member=10147]jobsworth[/member]

Yay brother .. work the system, don't suffer the system !!

 

[sancho57]

That's it, if there isn't a law against it then it's legal.

 

[tjbnwi]

I always inquire about a cash discount and 50%-75% of the time I receive one.

I've had people ask the same, my response is "I still have to pay my bills". If I purchase material for the job cash or credit does not affect the cost. When I was audited by the IRS the auditor did not care what I claimed as income. She looked at every deduction and connected it to a job. When I asked her why she did it that way her response was, "people hide income, they never hide deductions, if you deducted more than you took in where did the funds come from?"

I deduct my tool purchases as a business expense. As to paying taxes on internet sales, for me it comes down to one question on the Indiana tax form--Did you purchase anything from outside the state that you would have paid taxes on in the state? If I responded "No", I would be falsifying a legal document and committing fraud. The cover up charges are always worse then the initial crime.

Tom

 

[Frank-Jan]

Funny thing, up untill just now, I thought sales tax was just another word for VAT. I didn't realise it was a totally different system. (This thread made me curious enough to look it up)

 

[sanangelo]

Funny thing, up untill just now, I thought sales tax was just another word for VAT. I didn't realise it was a totally different system. (This thread made me curious enough to look it up)

They are very different.  It's one of the reason why goods are usually cheaper in the US.  I would guess that most in the US don't understand the difference.

 

[Holmz]

Funny thing, up untill just now, I thought sales tax was just another word for VAT. I didn't realise it was a totally different system. (This thread made me curious enough to look it up)

They are very different.  It's one of the reason why goods are usually cheaper in the US.  I would guess that most in the US don't understand the difference.

In an Ayn Rand sense they're both someones hand into your pocket.

 

[sanangelo]

Funny thing, up untill just now, I thought sales tax was just another word for VAT. I didn't realise it was a totally different system. (This thread made me curious enough to look it up)

They are very different.  It's one of the reason why goods are usually cheaper in the US.  I would guess that most in the US don't understand the difference.

In an Ayn Rand sense they're both someones hand into your pocket.

. Most definitely... But one is compounded more then the other... But hey someone has to pay for all the free services

 

[L.J]

Where is the guy that started this whole thing ????

 

[semenza]

Where is the guy that started this whole thing ????

Good point. Maybe it's time to put this to bed?

Seth

 

[harry_]

I pay EVERY penny of sales tax the state of New Hampshire requires of me for EVERY purchase regardless of means or locale of seller.

I also pay EVERY penny of income tax required as well.

New Hampshire has neither  [tongue]

As for accommodating a cash discount, yup I can do that too. I am fully capable of making cash disappear. In fact I reserve it for things that I cannot deduct. Cash is for buying televisions.....not tools.

 

[Throwback7r]

Are you telling me that a Television as you call, it is not a Fixed presentation screen?

I pay EVERY penny of sales tax the state of New Hampshire requires of me for EVERY purchase regardless of means or locale of seller.

I also pay EVERY penny of income tax required as well.

New Hampshire has neither  [tongue]

As for accommodating a cash discount, yup I can do that too. I am fully capable of making cash disappear. In fact I reserve it for things that I cannot deduct. Cash is for buying televisions.....not tools.

 

[7sec153]

In some recent FOG posts I've seen the suggestion that buying online from an out-of-state retailer is a way to get Festool products more cheaply because you don't have to pay sales tax.

I live in Illinois, and I buy Festool both online and from brick-and-mortar stores here.  When an online retailer does not collect sales tax because it doesn't have a physical presence in Illinois, I still have to pay tax.  There is a "use tax" that is the difference between any sales tax I actually paid and the sales tax I would have paid at a store in Illinois.  So the tax amount for me is the same whether I make the purchase in Illinois, online, or on a road trip to a state with lower taxes.

The problem for Illinois with the use tax is that reporting is on the honor system.  The tax isn't collected at the point of sale.  Instead, buyers are supposed to keep purchase receipts and self-report when filing annual Illinois tax returns.  As itemizing is a hassle, the state offers a straight tax alternative based on income.  Regardless, there's no way for the state to check how much people have spent at out-of-state retailers.  This means that many people who don't want to pay this tax do not pay it.

While I don't like many of the spending decisions made by the Illinois state government, I still pay my taxes.  I've really liked seeing FOG users speak up against abuse of Festool's generous return policy and for supporting Festool's manufacturing jobs in Germany.  I hope that FOG readers who may not have already will take the time to learn what their state's use tax obligations are and then do the right thing and pay the proper amounts.

I have no idea what you just said.

 

[mastercabman]

In some recent FOG posts I've seen the suggestion that buying online from an out-of-state retailer is a way to get Festool products more cheaply because you don't have to pay sales tax.

I live in Illinois, and I buy Festool both online and from brick-and-mortar stores here.  When an online retailer does not collect sales tax because it doesn't have a physical presence in Illinois, I still have to pay tax.  There is a "use tax" that is the difference between any sales tax I actually paid and the sales tax I would have paid at a store in Illinois.  So the tax amount for me is the same whether I make the purchase in Illinois, online, or on a road trip to a state with lower taxes.

The problem for Illinois with the use tax is that reporting is on the honor system.  The tax isn't collected at the point of sale.  Instead, buyers are supposed to keep purchase receipts and self-report when filing annual Illinois tax returns.  As itemizing is a hassle, the state offers a straight tax alternative based on income.  Regardless, there's no way for the state to check how much people have spent at out-of-state retailers.  This means that many people who don't want to pay this tax do not pay it.

While I don't like many of the spending decisions made by the Illinois state government, I still pay my taxes.  I've really liked seeing FOG users speak up against abuse of Festool's generous return policy and for supporting Festool's manufacturing jobs in Germany.  I hope that FOG readers who may not have already will take the time to learn what their state's use tax obligations are and then do the right thing and pay the proper amounts.

I have no idea what you just said.

I do but this guy needs a reality check!

 

[Holmz]

Interesting to get a lesson on morals, while the Romney's and most corporations give the least possible.

I would not mind a woodworking tip or two on FOG if they Re not overtaxed.

 

[semenza]

This thread is going in a poor direction for FOG.