# Why do we have to pay sales tax on the full retail value of a cell phone in California? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-have-to-pay-sales-tax-on-the-full-retail-value-of-a-cell-phone-in-california/589817 "2011-07-21T05:17:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-have-to-pay-sales-tax-on-the-full-retail-value-of-a-cell-phone-in-california/589817/21 "2011-07-24T21:22:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. If an item is on sale, it’s paid on the price you pay for the item. If there’s a rebate or a coupon, however, it’s paid on the full purchase price. Only if it is a manufacturer coupon, as the coupon is a form of payment. A store coupon is a price reduction and sales tax is charged only on the price after the coupon. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-have-to-pay-sales-tax-on-the-full-retail-value-of-a-cell-phone-in-california/589817/22 "2011-07-25T02:31:35Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Mind you some provinces have now combined the provincial tax and the federal tax into one all-encompassing Harmonized Sales tax (HST) which applies to just about everything but raw food and air. Who wants to start a pool on when the first air tax will be implemented? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-have-to-pay-sales-tax-on-the-full-retail-value-of-a-cell-phone-in-california/589817.md?page=1)