I do a lot of experimenting with audio. A large part of keeping the cost down has been minimal sales tax, allowing a bad design to be discarded and re-started.
Since Jan 1, 2020 my online buying has tapered off to nearly zero.
Now sales tax is on everything including shipping etc.
Buying ebay 'for parts only' heavy tube chassis etc now too expensive.
The tax laws state to state are so convoluted even tax professionals cannot guarantee compliance.
The tax laws effect craft shows, bazaars and I see garage sales being included eventually.
Definately is killing my diy hobby.
Maybe a 'Church of Audio' with 501c3 tax exemption is necessary.
Since Jan 1, 2020 my online buying has tapered off to nearly zero.
Now sales tax is on everything including shipping etc.
Buying ebay 'for parts only' heavy tube chassis etc now too expensive.
The tax laws state to state are so convoluted even tax professionals cannot guarantee compliance.
The tax laws effect craft shows, bazaars and I see garage sales being included eventually.
Definately is killing my diy hobby.
Maybe a 'Church of Audio' with 501c3 tax exemption is necessary.
How unfair that you are forced to pay the same sales taxes as have existed at brick and mortar retailers for some 90 years.
What sort of percentage do you guys have to pay?
We used to get waived sales tax on imports under $1000aud but they changed the goalposts a little while back so that everything imported is taxed. EBay et al have to take payment at purchase and then forward it to the tax office.
It's still cheaper to import most things or buy from a multinational like Farnell or mouser who ship items to the local distributor (although Mouser charge in USD so I get hammered with bank fees).
We used to get waived sales tax on imports under $1000aud but they changed the goalposts a little while back so that everything imported is taxed. EBay et al have to take payment at purchase and then forward it to the tax office.
It's still cheaper to import most things or buy from a multinational like Farnell or mouser who ship items to the local distributor (although Mouser charge in USD so I get hammered with bank fees).
Kevin, I've always paid sales tax on mouser,digikey but brick mortor stores do not sell used ancient hifi equipment. Unintended concquences of interfering with interstate commerce slowly shrink the hobby.
B&H Payboo looks pretty good. I read it was illegal to give instant sales tax break at checkout, so Payboo works by putting it on a gift card account thing.
Sweetwater may have something similar too.
Amazon probably would be forced eventually.
If combined with free shipping then we are back in the saddle.
Ebay and Paypal probably could figure out a similar scheme.
Good business people always seem to be several steps ahead of the bureaucrats.
Sweetwater may have something similar too.
Amazon probably would be forced eventually.
If combined with free shipping then we are back in the saddle.
Ebay and Paypal probably could figure out a similar scheme.
Good business people always seem to be several steps ahead of the bureaucrats.
Jfetter, sales tax is in most countries standard. in my country (Belgium) for audio stuff it's 21%, essential goods for life are 6%. And similar taxes are all over Europe taken. And we do also experiment with stuff. Those taxes pay a lot of things for the general public, like our infrastructure, (almost free) healthcare, retirement fees and other social welfare and free eductation (but the universaty, wich is still cheap). Your country does not have that, that is why there is so much poverty, criminality and danger...
So ummmm 100% tax = utopia, low taxes = hades?
There is great flaw in such logic.
It sounds like propaganda.
There is great flaw in such logic.
It sounds like propaganda.
What you need is the Laffer curve, the pinnacle of economic theory.
https://robertnielsen21.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/laffer_curve_3.png
That is putting it black and white. Taxes are needed in a country to pay the things of general interest, but there is a lot of space between 100% and 0%, and it's a matter of finding the right balance between earning money and taxations. I think in the EU it's one of the better systems (altough far from perfect). But no taxes at all won't help your country, and tax evasions are not very constructive for the future of your country, and your country has a lot of needs for the future...
And no, i don't like paying taxes also, but i understand that it's needed and i know what i get back for it.
FWIW taxes come from the very beginning of Human Culture, check Hammurabi Laws and ancient Egypt.
In fact Egyptians developed Geometry, focused on area calculation, to accurately check land plots and calculate Tax with precision.
Go figure.
In fact Egyptians developed Geometry, focused on area calculation, to accurately check land plots and calculate Tax with precision.
Go figure.
What drives me crazy is eBay's Global Shipping Policy (GSP). If I purchase something on eBay out of the US (I'm in Canada) most sellers use the GSP. This means all items are shipped by USPS to Pitney-Bowes on the east coast, where they tabulate a fee that supposedly covers the cost of duty & customs into Canada. Then the item is sent by USPS to me. This means an item purchased out of, let's say California is sent to the US east coast and then sent half way across the continent to Western Canada.
If the seller had simply gone online to the USPS they could fill out the forms (I assume Americans can do this, because I can with Canada Post) and mail it to me directly. In most cases I will get the item much quicker, won't pay any duty or customs fees, and the package will travel far less.
Sorry for the rant, but the GSP drives me crazy, and I have certainly curtailed what I purchase from the US when the GSP is the shipping method.
If the seller had simply gone online to the USPS they could fill out the forms (I assume Americans can do this, because I can with Canada Post) and mail it to me directly. In most cases I will get the item much quicker, won't pay any duty or customs fees, and the package will travel far less.
Sorry for the rant, but the GSP drives me crazy, and I have certainly curtailed what I purchase from the US when the GSP is the shipping method.
As far as I can tell, PayPal is not collecting state sales taxes on purchases made through AliExpress, and I bought some parts as recently as yesterday.
The AliExpress "merchants" that take PayPal charge a bit extra for it, but I don't see a separate line item for sales tax on my PayPal account; on ebay purchases, the state sales tax is a line item.
Our state sales tax is high; the playing field between local brick and mortar and internet sales is still pretty unequal, but at least making online retailers collect the tax helps to level it a little bit.
I've been paying sales tax on online sales for a while, ours is 6.25% here in MA, I can say categorically that it has had absolutely no effect at all on my purchasing habits. Technically residents of the commonwealth are required to pay a use tax on anything purchased out of state on which no sales taxes were paid, I'm sure almost no one ever did, hence the sales tax.
If it preserves some level of local brick and mortar stores that's not bad for local economies, town centers, etc. Levels the playing field.
This hobby is the center of my recreational life so I am willing to pay what it takes within reason to recreate.
If it preserves some level of local brick and mortar stores that's not bad for local economies, town centers, etc. Levels the playing field.
This hobby is the center of my recreational life so I am willing to pay what it takes within reason to recreate.