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Heh. I know you are not a CPA because if you are advising your clients to use this supposed loophole, state tax authorities are eventually going to come after you for a lotta dough. It's one thing when individual taxpayers cheat on their taxes by not paying use tax on their online purchases, cause you almost never get caught, and barely anyone knows you are supposed to (witness replies above). But for a "tax accountant" to recommend it... :D

My tax accountant is a CPA. I asked him about this and he told me there is no practical means of enforcement in this state, and advised me not to bother. Standard advice policy of their firm.

I generally buy camera and computer stuff from B&H Photo in New York. They have no "nexus" in this state and therefore don't charge me sales tax. It's saved me a LOT of money over the last 30 years.
 
Over here in CEE all prices on websites are tax included. It's not even mentioned, everybody knows it so this explains my surprise.

I can see how it would be confusing. The emphasis on individual states' rights in the US means there can be 50 different policies on this kind of thing.

If you ordered it using a Pittsburgh address, you could have avoided sales tax by ordering it from a reseller that has no "nexus" in Pennsylvania, like B&H Photo, for example, instead of the Apple Store.
 
The same machine is 24099NOK here which is a whooping $4088 (including VAT ofc)
(17 inch, i7, 8GB and 500GB 7200RPM hd, no other optional extras)
 
I'm a tax accountant so I can tell you why that is. Whether or not a state charges you taxes has to do with something called "nexus"... It generally neccesary for a company to have a physical presence in the state in question. New York has said that since Amazon hosts advertising for stores that are located within the jurisdiction of New York that a nexus is created and therefore any business done with Amazon is therefore taxable.... Amazon is fighting this right now.... Should they lose, the tax free loophole we have all been enjoying by purchasing online could disappear. You can google amazon, nexus and new York if you want more details.

You do know that legally, every citizen is required to pay taxes from online goods when they do end of year taxes right? It is not a loophole. It is people avoiding taxes.....aka illegal
 
You do know that legally, every citizen is required to pay taxes from online goods when they do end of year taxes right? It is not a loophole. It is people avoiding taxes.....aka illegal

It's an unenforceable policy that some states have been talking about enforcing since the advent of mail order in the 70's. They're still working on it. Maybe someday.

My CPA told me there's never been a case of anyone nicked for not paying those taxes in the history of this state and advised me to hold off again this year. I pay him a lot of money to keep me out of tax trouble, so I took his advice again.
 


Of the 3 links you kindly mention, only BHPhotovideo do have the one i want (17"/i7/8RAM/7200/AGlare), see direct link http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/685890-REG/Apple_Z0GP_0004_17_MacBook_Pro_Notebook.html

Price is just 10$ cheaper than the AS, they do not have it in stock right now, i will check out from time to time and give a try to see if they charge tax or not. Mind you, i might save tax here, but then i can forget my french keyboard..
Dilemma :rolleyes:
 
This is one of the reasons that I prefer to order things from eBay when possible. Typically, they have no tax, free shipping, and you can get 8-10% back with bing cashback. Too bad iPad's are still ridiculously expensive on ebay.

QFT, just avoid buying from a seller thats in the same state as you
 
QFT, just avoid buying from a seller thats in the same state as you

Yep. Pretty easy since I'm in NC. I'm all set to buy my 13" MBP on eBay next week as soon as my auctions close and people pay me. $1199 up front and I get $120 back, so $1079 TOTAL for a Brand New MBP, best price I've seen.
 
Hello

as i explained earlier on, i'm in the EEC so i wasn't aware of taxes to add when ordering on the AppleStore.
Still i will order it (as it's way cheaper than here) and have it brought to me by my friend who lives in Pennsylvania but can anyone help and tell me which USA areas are less charged than others ? is there a chart/list somewhere i can look at ?

thanks
 
Just google US State Sales Tax

New Hampshire has no sales tax.. I found that out the hard way when I went to buy a MBP in Florida... I think I just might move back up north..
 
I will definitely go for the cheapest way of course.
Still, i cannot find the one that i want (17"/i7/7200rpm/4GBram/AGlare) on reliable sites other than the AS.
I want to avoid those +7% tax for Pennsylvania.
 
I understand the practice is to not have to pay taxes online, but you do realize you are asking us to help you violate laws?

??
That's not the case at all.
I'm just asking for suggestions where my friend could buy it in the USA without getting charged as the AS does.
Some other people mentioned Amazon didn't charge tax, and surely some other sites too, nothing illegal here.
 
I'm a tax accountant so I can tell you why that is. Whether or not a state charges you taxes has to do with something called "nexus"... It generally neccesary for a company to have a physical presence in the state in question. New York has said that since Amazon hosts advertising for stores that are located within the jurisdiction of New York that a nexus is created and therefore any business done with Amazon is therefore taxable.... Amazon is fighting this right now.... Should they lose, the tax free loophole we have all been enjoying by purchasing online could disappear. You can google amazon, nexus and new York if you want more details.

Amazon is fighting NC over this also. They need to. It's the fight for survival for Amazon. If a few states win, all will be on the bandwagon to collect this "new" revenue from Amazon. If Amazon loses, they lose one of their largest selling points. Why wait a week for shipping and pay tax when I can run to the local store for it. I hope Amazon wins.
 
Well, in Europe, all prices already have the sales tax included whereas in the US, it's added to the price that's advertised.

Because the tax is different for each state, so you can't see the true final price (after tax) until you enter your zip code.
 
if i were to buy a base model 15" Macbook Pro in any Apple Store in Michigan will i pay 1800 $ like it says on the website or more because of taxes? please help about this i need a reply.
 
If you buy in an Apple store in your state, you will pay tax. If you have an Apple Store in your state and you order on line, you will pay tax.
 
If it is really cheaper to buy on Amazon because u don't pay tax, are there any benefits at all to buying in the apple store? Apart from getting the product instantly.
 
if i were to buy a base model 15" Macbook Pro in any Apple Store in Michigan will i pay 1800 $ like it says on the website or more because of taxes? please help about this i need a reply.

According to wikipedia Michigan has a 6% sales tax so you'll pay $1800 + 6% = $1908
 
According to wikipedia Michigan has a 6% sales tax so you'll pay $1800 + 6% = $1908

thanks for your answer. I will give money to a friend going on usa for a vacation to get for me. So i want to give the exact amount.

1908$ is correct right? Can anyone else verify it. Is that how things work in usa?
 
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