# (Anonymous Poll) Do you report unpaid sales taxes on goods purchased online? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389 "2010-03-22T21:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/61 "2010-03-25T06:58:20Z")
When I was a kid, California sales tax was 6 percent. My Mom remembers when it was 4%. It is now 8.75% in Orange County where I live, 9.25% in LA. This state is broke now, had budget problems when the economy was “good” and has a history of financial irresponsibility. I go out of my way to make as many purchases from amazon as I can. I am talking about my vacuum cleaner, car parts, computers, cameras, tools, or anything they will ship for free. The UPS guy knows me well. California’s financial problems won’t be solved by taking more from me. As a bonus, my life is better: more stuff, less money spent. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/62 "2010-03-25T07:36:57Z")
I marked “I live in a state without sales tax” because I’m in Oregon, but when I didn’t live here I never paid sales tax on my tax form. There’s no way for them to check, so fuck em. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/63 "2010-03-25T14:35:31Z")
Texas, no sales tax. Thank God for petroleum and energy. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/64 "2010-03-25T15:11:09Z")
> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#): > > To use an extreme example, in 1999 I bought a motorcycle in Virginia, and rode it back to my home state of Michigan. I didn’t pay sales tax when I bought it, but I did when I registered it in Michigan. They’ll even nail you for a car you bought several years before bringing it to Michigan. And base the tax on its value when you bought it, not now after it’s depreciated. They do only expect difference in tax between what you paid in the other state and Michigan’s tax. I don’t know which year’s tax rate they look at for each state. (My cite is an article I read in the Detroit Free Press a few years ago.) ETA: I’m one of the _Yes, always._ respondents, but I’m really answering for my wife. She does the taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/65 "2010-03-25T17:02:06Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > So if I’m ever living near Oregon and I want to buy something big like a LCD television I should go across the border and buy it there? 😛 Actually if you do, then you’re supposed to reported _that_ on your home state’s return. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/66 "2010-03-25T17:07:27Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Actually if you do, then you’re supposed to reported _that_ on your home state’s return. I wonder how many people actually do though. It would honestly never occur to me to declare it. [QUOTE=Rumor Watkins] The other part about this is it screws over your local retailers and communities. so if internet shopping keeps growing and the taxes aren’t paid for, you wind up shooting yourself in the foot as a member of the community. [/QUOTE] Actually I figure if enough people start shopping in other tax districts for it to make a dent then maybe it will send the message local sales taxes are too high and they could actually make more revenue by lowering them (i.e. 8% of $100,000,000 is $1 million more than 10% of $70,000,000). ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/67 "2010-03-25T17:36:44Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Actually I figure if enough people start shopping in other tax districts for it to make a dent then maybe it will send the message local sales taxes are too high and they could actually make more revenue by lowering them (i.e. 8% of $100,000,000 is $1 million more than 10% of $70,000,000). or, you know, people shop online precisely because they don’t pay sales tax, period. so, effectively, any sales tax rate is too high. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/68 "2010-03-26T03:02:21Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > or, you know, people shop online precisely because they don’t pay sales tax, period. so, effectively, any sales tax rate is too high. I’ve found that it’s mostly just cheaper, period. Not that I buy much, but I rarely go to stores for non-food items these days. Anyone know how states go about enforcing this? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389.md?page=3)