bit density said:
You hate them because they are in all 50 states or because they obey the law (due to the fact that they have a presence in those states)?QUOTE]
no - he doesn't 'owe' anyone his tax money
no internet orders are subject to sales tax by law
the only time sales tax is a requirement is when its purchased in person
internet orders have ZERO federal laws attached to them --- leaving it up to the manufacturer to 'decide' whether they want to charge sales tax or not
Apple should take off that reasoning of having 50 stores and stuff ---- in reality, they have CHOSEN to charge sales tax
Wrong, on all counts with the exception that you are in California.
Every state that I know of, including California, obligates a company to charge state tax on an import from out of state if the organization has any presence in the state. This is not a "choice" by the vendor.
State tax is payable on mail orders within the state: the "in person" statement is not correct.
"No Federal tax" is a red herring. We are talking about state law, not federal law or some mythical "internet tax". Many states and provinces have had in their sales tax statutes for decades the provision that if a resident imports goods (in person or by mail or pony express) then they are expected to report the purchase and remit the tax to the state. Here is the applicable rule in my province
http://www.rev.gov.bc.ca/ctb/publications/bulletins/sst_043.pdf
California appears to not have this import provision (but definitely has the "agent or representative in this state" provision):
http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/reg1620.pdf
Indiana does charge on import, however, and this applies to the OP:
http://www.state.in.us/sic/owners/ib.html
"Indiana Use Tax: Under Indiana law, use tax is imposed upon the use, storage, or consumption of tangible personal property in Indiana where the property was acquired in a retail transaction and sales tax was not paid at the point of purchase. The Indiana use tax rate is 6% as of December 1st 2002.
Common examples of items subject to Indiana use tax include magazine subscriptions, office supplies, property used or consumed outside the scope of production, and
property purchased from out of state vendors. Indiana use tax applies to all residents of Indiana and is not limited to business entities... Individuals must report and pay the use tax due on their individual income tax return (IT-40). Forms: ST-103, ST-115, (ST-115) . "
