Smoke another fatty. "Use Tax" is for things like cars and
gasoline. The idea being that only people that "use" the thing in
question pay the tax that's built-in to it, instead of having a
general tax that everyone pays for, whether they "use" it, or not.
You're mistaken. "Use taxes" were specifically enacted to combat
out of state mail order businesses evading in state sales tax, and
thereby putting in state businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
You can google "use tax" and pick your state from the results.
Here is a typical explanation from the North Carolina Department of
Revenue page:
"North Carolina has a use tax on purchases made outside the State
for use in North Carolina. Residents are responsible for paying the
use tax on purchases for which no North Carolina sales or use tax
has been charged. The use tax applies to transactions that would be
subject to sales tax if the purchase were made in North Carolina.
The use tax rate is the same as the sales tax rate that would apply
to the purchase if it were made in North Carolina."
For example, if I don't drive, why should a portion of my taxes go
towards fixing roads? That's what the tax on gas is for. Use
stuff; pay the tax on it. Don't use stuff; pay no taxes. Totally
does NOT relate to not paying tax on goods you buy over the
Internet. It's a loophole - there are forces trying to undo that
loophole, but for now it's there, it's legal, no one is committing
a crime.
Man alive.
I read in a lot of posts that with the tax saving from ordering
online the person is going to buy this lens or that lens. However,
every state in the U.S. has a use tax and if you don't pay sales
tax, you have to pay a use tax on an item. If you don't declare
the use tax on your tax forms, you're a tax cheat and you're
committing a crime.
It's what you do when no one's looking that determines your character.
