My friend put a $50 deposit down on a $296+$24.42tax antique oven (total = $320.42).
I was with her when she made the deposit, and we confirmed with the shopowner that it would be refundable. We told him that it would be a couple of months before we made a decision as to whether she would take it.
Two months pass by, and she calls to get her deposit back. Nothing comes.
A few calls late, the owner says (in essence): we already paid the sales tax to the state, so we’re only going to refund you $50-24.42.
Now, because he didn’t like my arguments, he’s not going to give her anything back (I was polite, btw).
This doesn’t seem legal to me:
he can’t sell the same item twice
he can get his tax back from the state on his next filing
why should she pay tax on the full item, when we never received it or accepted it
the shopkeeper insists that it is a bona fide sale, etc.
If she takes him to small claims court, can she get her filing costs back?
I don’t quite understand the shopkeeper’s logic. He is charging sales tax on an item that was not sold or delivered to a person?
So, if person 2 buys the item does that person get to purchase it without paying sales tax?
I don’t think so.
The question is do you want to hassle with going to small claims court over $24? You might just want to report the person to the appropriate Consumer Affairs agency.
No, he says person 2 would pay sales tax, too (on the same item). His chief argument is that he already paid the sales tax on it, and isn’t about to give her back that tax. I say he shouldn’t have paid it, since he never sold anything to her.
I will try the BBB first, but I doubt they will get anywhere, as he was a real A$$.
Complaining a lot to him and reporting him to the Consumer Affairs people and then never patronizing him again and telling anyone who will listen not to patronize him would likely be a more effective form of revenge.
I doubt the man would bother to respond to a Small Claims Court summons nor would he bother to repay you for the filing fees and the $24 unless you had a lot of time on your hands to fight for that.
The BBB isn’t a governmental agency. Check the appropriate department in your city or state which governs the collection of sales tax. They’re the ones with the power to get the guy to do what’s legal.
The people you need are the Department of Consumer Affairs, and the State Board of Equalization (which handles sales taxes). The BOE has a policy about refunding overpayment of sales tax to consumers, not retailers, but I’m not sure how it works.