taxes/import fees on out of state diamond purchase?

[denverboy]

I live in colorado. If I get a ring from say whiteflash in TX, as I understand it I will NOT have to pay taxes - is that right? Do I have to pay any sort of import fees or anything else? Just trying to account for all "extra" costs before I make a final decision soon

 

[bgray]

no-i think you only pay taxes when the vendor has a location in the same state

 

[strmrdr]

Your legally supposed to pay 2.9% use tax to the state in CO.
Some cities may also have a local use tax.

http://www.revenue.state.co.us/fyi/html/generl10.html

 

[denverboy]

so on that page it says "Use tax must be paid by businesses and individuals who purchase goods when the seller did not or could not collect sales tax (for example, purchases from an out-of-state retailer who does not collect Colorado sales tax)."

Isn''t this the case for most online purchases (ex, amazon.com etc)?? Or is that a different case? I''ve bought several things online without ever even thinking of paying a ''use tax'' in CO =/ Do most ppl simply don''t know about it or don''t care about it?

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 8/26/2008 12:58:29 AM
Author: denverboy
so on that page it says ''Use tax must be paid by businesses and individuals who purchase goods when the seller did not or could not collect sales tax (for example, purchases from an out-of-state retailer who does not collect Colorado sales tax).''


Isn''t this the case for most online purchases (ex, amazon.com etc)?? Or is that a different case? I''ve bought several things online without ever even thinking of paying a ''use tax'' in CO =/ Do most ppl simply don''t know about it or don''t care about it?

yes it applies to all that....
some don''t know and most don''t care...
But the answer to your question is legally your are supposed to.

 

[denverappraiser]

The usual costs for new purchases are:

The cost of the diamond including lab work
Banking costs (the wire discount or credit card fees)
Shipping
The mounting
Assembly labor
Presentation box et.al.
Sales/use tax
The appraisal
Insurance

Often you can bundle several of these together from the same vendor. Most will give you a ‘free’ presentation box if you buy other things from them for example. Occasionally people find the shipping/inspection/appraisal process needs to be repeated more than once.

Your question about sales tax is a good one. Out-of-state merchants are not permitted to collect sales tax even if they wanted to but this doesn’t change your tax rate. The taxing authority will be the Colorado Department of Revenue and they get to set the rules, not the seller. It’s worth noting that, in the case of Colorado, that 2.9% tax rate is still pretty attractive. A merchant in any of the counties anywhere near Denver are going to be a minimum of 4.5% (unincorporated areas of Arapahoe, Adams, Weld, etc.) and can get as high as 8% in some places (City and county of Denver).

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver