posted on January 16, 2001 05:12:24 PM
Someone may have already started a thread on this, if so I'm sorry.
I started working on my taxes today and Ohio now has an OHio use tax. Here are the directions,
If, for instance you vacationed in Florida and bought a patio set to ship home to Ohio, figure the state tax you owe based on your residing county below.
If, for instance you purchased clothing on the internet, figure the state tax you owe based on your residing county from the table below.
posted on January 16, 2001 06:19:46 PM
Hey, rarriffle!
I saw the article in the Plain Dealer about the new tax. As usual, the reporter was not big on details, but it appeared that ANY internet purchase you made was to be reported and the tax for your county (mine is 7%) should be paid.
It also stated that if you purchased any goods out of state, you should also calculate and pay the Ohio tax.
If you're on vacation do you need to keep track of all your T-shirt purchases and report them? This gets sickening; I pay tax on items I purchase in other states, except in some rare instances like clothing in PA, so now I have to pay Ohio some tax, too?
I am curious to see how much they collect on this as it relies on voluntary reporting. I'm very honest when it comes to paying all taxes due but this seems a bit intrusive.
posted on January 16, 2001 07:12:15 PM
Ohio's just trying to grab their slice of the internet by using the decades-old "use tax." From what I understand, Taft etal are expecting the ultra-honest among us to voluntarily cough up several million. Obviously, there's little/no possibility for enforcement.
One of the law's opponents suggests that voluntary compliance exploits honest people and supports a $2000 exemption.
I think most folks will help themselves to a blanket exemption.
posted on January 16, 2001 07:14:56 PM
I would be really surprised if this stood up to a court challenge as it hinders interstate commerce by making it less "attractive" to buy goods out of state and placing an undue burden on interstate commerce.
posted on January 16, 2001 10:34:25 PM
I'm next door to you in Pennsylvania. We also have the same system in place. Most people wouldn't know it though. The only time it comes up is when the tax book comes and it explains how to calculate the tax owed.
Theoretically, they expect me to hand over the taxes they didn't get because I bought from a vendor not located in this state. Yeah, right. They can pucker up and kiss my ...
posted on January 17, 2001 09:06:48 AM
The way most states are done, if you're from Ohio, bought something in Florida and paid Florida's state sales tax, you calculate what you owe for Ohio sales tax, and DEDUCT the amount of Florida tax paid.... so you only are responsible for the difference..
Now, this leads me to wonder - if you live in a state with a tax of 7% and bought stuff in a state with 8%, would you get a refund of the excess?
posted on January 17, 2001 09:21:00 AM
Does the state of Ohio expect its residents to pay tax BOTH in the state of Florida (or whereever) AND in the state of Ohio? Or do you just have to declare and pay sales tax in Ohio on out of state purchases for which you paid no sales tax at all?
If the latter is the case, it would seem that this law is aimed directly at trying to make up the taxes that the mail order business has "taken away" from the state.
El
"The customer may not always be right, but she is always the customer."
posted on January 17, 2001 09:28:13 AM
I believe Alabama is trying this stupidity too, like who is going to actually report all this stuff, and who actually remembers all out of state purchases, which you weren't told at the beginning of the tax year that you needed to keep a record of.
posted on January 17, 2001 01:16:38 PM
Pennsylvania orients their interest to mail order. If the company dealt with doesn't have a presence in this state and is not collecting sales tax, they expect you to submit payment. It's just their way of trying to collect a sales tax on things not sold here but received here.
