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Originally Posted by Yoda
Rob, you are right, of course, but it is still a bummer when the point of sale is Texas and I live in Florida. It puts me at a competitive disadvantage in Heritage auctions compared to somebody, say, in South Dakota, particularly if I wish to use my Visa cards for payment and he/she pays by check. Still if you have to get the card then none of that really matters.
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The point of sale is not the determining factor for sales tax, it is the point of delivery. That's why the sales tax is different in different states because it is determined by where it is delivered.
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Well, because Heritage has an office in Florida, which I guess gives a Texas company the right to charge Fl sales tax. I doubt they have an office in South Dakota. I don't understand it but I guess that is the law. And yes it is a real office here in Palm Beach. I have been down there and kicked the tires. It is not a PO box.
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The law is this. Any company sending merchandise obtained via internet is required to collect sales tax for that state if it has a physical presence in that state. If they do not, they are not required to collect sales tax. If you are in FL, the tax Heritage collects goes to the state of Florida.
Because of political pressures, most major companies (Amazon, primarily) now have agreements with most states to collect tax. The reason it has not been required is because tax laws are different in every state and it was considered too big a burden on a company to have to understand and comply with all states laws.
An example: Alabama has a 4% state sales tax and each county and city have their own. There is a roughly 10-15 mile stretch in the Birmingham area, where you could be in Jefferson or Shelby County, in city municipalities of Birmingham, Cahaba Heights, Vestavia Hills, Hoover or unincorporated areas in both counties. So in unincorporated Shelby Co sales tax is 5%. In the city of Birmingham/Jefferson Co, you pay 10%. Other combinations can make the tax 6%. 8% or 9%. That's just within a 10-15 mile stretch! Do to that craziness, the state came up with an 8% agreement with Amazon, so technically if you live in certain areas you could be getting overcharged or undercharged.
Hope that helps
Ultimately, legally everyone in every state is legally required to pay the tax whether the seller collects it. But we all know that doesn't happen.