Sales Tax

[Ruup]

Hey there just wanted to ask a question about how Sales Tax in America works, forgive my ignorance on this matter but as I'm from abroad I don't know how things work.

Just say if I was to purchase a diamond in for example NY and have it sent to another state (where I have a relative) I believe the vendor doesn't charge me tax if they don't have any offices in this state. As I'm from abroad how exactly do I pay tax as I've never even been into the country before and another question is am I exempt from even paying tax as I'm from abroad? Speaking to my relatives there they were like nobody ever pays anyway as usually the state has no way of finding out that you bought that item, basically they rely on you being honest and just mentioning it yourself so there is little chance of them going after you. I'd rather steer clear of that but is that true? I don't want to come in the USA at a future date and be pulled over coming through customs and stuck in jail or something!

 

[that_someone_special]

I don't have an answer- but I highly doubt you would be sent to jail for not paying taxes- unless it was multiple high end items and you were supposed to pay in the first place.


When I order online I don't pay taxes to companies that are not based in my state or don't have a location in my state. I think that's pretty universal.

Where are you from though? I think some countries have import taxes though, right?

 

[Ruup]

I'm from the UK myself and intended to go out and pick the diamond up and bring it back home. Or I might just have it set there and bring it back still toying with a few options. My relative in California. In the UK it is different as we have VAT put on pretty much everything so we can't really get out of paying tax no matter where you are from but from what I understand in America every state has their own tax collection rules and rates.

My cousin told me the same as you and was like nobody here pays it and he is like don't worry about it. He was like on your yearly tax form you tell them how much stuff you bought in and you can put in whatever you like as it is very hard for them to find out. So when you order stuff in do most people there usually just not put anything in?

Diamond in question is possibly going to be $20k+ so I don't know if that counts as high end! He said the same and was like if you are doing it on items which are of very high value ($100k +) then they might push hard to find out but they don't on others.

 

[Kismet]

If you walk into the store then you have to pay the tax, regardless of where you're from. If you get it shipped to you in the UK then you won't have to pay sales tax. If the store you're buying from has an office (nexus) in CA then you'd probably have to pay CA sales tax, if it doesn't then you wouldn't have to pay CA tax. Legally your relative would probably owe use tax on the purchase if you had it sent to him/her but that's harder for the government to follow and mostly disclosing it is voluntary.

 

[bee*]

As others have said, if you walk into the store you'll pay the tax even if you're not from the US. I'm in Ireland and we bought our ring in NY. We had to pay tax when we brought the ring and then when we arrived back in Ireland we had to pay the customs charge. I'm not sure of what your rate is in the UK but I think legally you're meant to declare items over a certain value.

 

[kenny]

Hey there just wanted to ask a question about how Sales Tax in America works, forgive my ignorance on this matter but as I'm from abroad I don't know how things work.

Just say if I was to purchase a diamond in for example NY and have it sent to another state (where I have a relative) I believe the vendor doesn't charge me tax if they don't have any offices in this state. As I'm from abroad how exactly do I pay tax as I've never even been into the country before and another question is am I exempt from even paying tax as I'm from abroad? Speaking to my relatives there they were like nobody ever pays anyway as usually the state has no way of finding out that you bought that item, basically they rely on you being honest and just mentioning it yourself so there is little chance of them going after you. I'd rather steer clear of that but is that true? I don't want to come in the USA at a future date and be pulled over coming through customs and stuck in jail or something!

It is the law that anything you buy from another state (and did not pay sales tax on) must be reported when you do your taxes at the end of the year.
They you pay use tax.

That is the law.
Most Americans break the law.
That is why congress is considering getting vendors to charge tax even when it is shipped to another state.
States and the Fed have huge budget deficits while zillions of dollars in tax revenue is not being collected.

 

[Ruup]

Cool, thanks for all the help

 

[Arkteia]

Hey there just wanted to ask a question about how Sales Tax in America works, forgive my ignorance on this matter but as I'm from abroad I don't know how things work.

Just say if I was to purchase a diamond in for example NY and have it sent to another state (where I have a relative) I believe the vendor doesn't charge me tax if they don't have any offices in this state. As I'm from abroad how exactly do I pay tax as I've never even been into the country before and another question is am I exempt from even paying tax as I'm from abroad? Speaking to my relatives there they were like nobody ever pays anyway as usually the state has no way of finding out that you bought that item, basically they rely on you being honest and just mentioning it yourself so there is little chance of them going after you. I'd rather steer clear of that but is that true? I don't want to come in the USA at a future date and be pulled over coming through customs and stuck in jail or something!

It is the law that anything you buy from another state (and did not pay sales tax on) must be reported when you do your taxes at the end of the year.
They you pay use tax.

That is the law.
Most Americans break the law.
That is why congress is considering getting vendors to charge tax even when it is shipped to another state.
States and the Fed have huge budget deficits while zillions of dollars in tax revenue is not being collected.

They should go after drug dealers and prostitutes not reporting their earnings, not after jewelers and consumers who already get taxed to the extreme! Half of the country works under the table, and they are doing nothing about it. The budget deficit was not our doing.