" wrote in
:

On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:09:39 -0500, Peter wrote:

On 11/23/2011 11:12 AM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

A friend lived in one town but had an address for the city next to
it. I lived a couple of blocks closer to the city (same
subdivision) but had a town address. The tax rates were
substantially different. How does your simple model handle this?


Are you talking about sales tax rate or school/real estate tax rate?

Sales tax. I don't think Amazon is being asked to collect real estate
tax. ;-)

I'm very familiar with the latter, the former is less common.

Usually when you live in one town but have an address for the city
next to it, the town has a different zip code than the city. (That's
my circumstance as well.) It is very rare for cities large enough to
impose a sales tax to have the same zip codes as communities outside
that city's legal boundary.

He lived in a town outside the city but had a city address (and, of
course, zip code). His sales tax *should* have been charged at the
town rate, regardless of his city street address. It was very
difficult to get that through to anyone, though.

I actually lived between him and the city, in the same subdivision,
yet had a town address (and zip code, obviously). There is no
rationalizing the way the USPS works.

My mother's house, in a different state, also has a different postal
address city/town/village than what is recorded on the property deed,
and a different zip code. Neither jurisdiction is large enough to
have imposed their own sales tax. They do have different school
taxes.

Different issues. BTW, it doesn't take a "large city" to have a
different sales tax rate. It can even vary within a municipal entity.

Doesn't zip+4 get you down to the street, rather than an area somewhere
with 100's of streets? That should get you into a database with salestax
rates.


--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

On 11/25/2011 7:48 AM, Han wrote:

Nancy Youngemail@replyto wrote in news:4ece5b8b$0$28478$a8266bb1
@newsreader.readnews.com:


NY indeed stinks, and NJ isn't that much better. We do agree on the
politicians ...

I don't know what you're talking about, really, NJ has never
adjusted the taxes I file by changing that line or any other.

nancy

Han wrote in
:

" wrote in
:

On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:09:39 -0500, Peter wrote:

On 11/23/2011 11:12 AM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

A friend lived in one town but had an address for the city next to
it. I lived a couple of blocks closer to the city (same
subdivision) but had a town address. The tax rates were
substantially different. How does your simple model handle this?


Are you talking about sales tax rate or school/real estate tax rate?

Sales tax. I don't think Amazon is being asked to collect real
estate tax. ;-)

I'm very familiar with the latter, the former is less common.

Usually when you live in one town but have an address for the city
next to it, the town has a different zip code than the city. (That's
my circumstance as well.) It is very rare for cities large enough to
impose a sales tax to have the same zip codes as communities outside
that city's legal boundary.

He lived in a town outside the city but had a city address (and, of
course, zip code). His sales tax *should* have been charged at the
town rate, regardless of his city street address. It was very
difficult to get that through to anyone, though.

I actually lived between him and the city, in the same subdivision,
yet had a town address (and zip code, obviously). There is no
rationalizing the way the USPS works.

My mother's house, in a different state, also has a different postal
address city/town/village than what is recorded on the property deed,
and a different zip code. Neither jurisdiction is large enough to
have imposed their own sales tax. They do have different school
taxes.

Different issues. BTW, it doesn't take a "large city" to have a
different sales tax rate. It can even vary within a municipal
entity.

Doesn't zip+4 get you down to the street, rather than an area
somewhere with 100's of streets? That should get you into a database
with salestax rates.

Googling "how do i find the sales tax for a given address" gives lots of
info

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

Nancy Young email@replyto wrote in news:4ecf9084$0$29320$a8266bb1
@newsreader.readnews.com:

On 11/25/2011 7:48 AM, Han wrote:

Nancy Youngemail@replyto wrote in news:4ece5b8b$0$28478$a8266bb1
@newsreader.readnews.com:


NY indeed stinks, and NJ isn't that much better. We do agree on the
politicians ...

I don't know what you're talking about, really, NJ has never
adjusted the taxes I file by changing that line or any other.

nancy

NY would have if youentered zero
I've always entered a nonzero amount, accurate to the best of my ability,
on either, depending on where I lived.

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:37:23 -0600, "HeyBub"
wrote:




The software necessary to accomplish the result you favor costs upwards of
several thousand dollars per year and must be updated at least monthly.
Giant retailers - Sears, Target, etc. - can absorb this cost, but the
part-timer who sells homemade candles or cookies cannot.


No one is yet chasing the little guys. Maybe some day, but not now.
Sure, there is some cost to this, but companies have been doing this
already for years. If you have a physical presence in a state, you
must collect the sales tax. Many big chain stores already are
collecting it. The technology exists. Order a book from Barnes &
Noble. Order a TV from WalMart on line. Order a program from
Microsoft.

It is done very day by many companies. What is the big deal for
Amazon to do it?

More energy has been expended by the naysayers here than it will take
to put the program in place. It is a bad as kids and homework. They
will complain for an hour about doing a 15 minute project.

Han wrote:

Nancy Young email@replyto wrote in news:4ecf9084$0$29320$a8266bb1
:

On 11/25/2011 7:48 AM, Han wrote:

Nancy Youngemail@replyto wrote in news:4ece5b8b$0$28478$a8266bb1
@newsreader.readnews.com:


NY indeed stinks, and NJ isn't that much better. We do agree on the
politicians ...

I don't know what you're talking about, really, NJ has never
adjusted the taxes I file by changing that line or any other.

nancy

NY would have if youentered zero
I've always entered a nonzero amount, accurate to the best of my ability,
on either, depending on where I lived.

We don't have a state income tax in TX, but you can *deduct* itemized
sales tax paid from your federal return (or take the default amount).




--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

More energy has been expended by the naysayers here than it will take
to put the program in place. It is a bad as kids and homework. They
will complain for an hour about doing a 15 minute project.

Well, that settles it then. Do me a favor and whip up some code for me
if its only gonna take 15 minutes. I will pay you $100 USD for the
code. That's $400/hour; good money for you, and well spent for me
because I can't do it. You must know something I don't.

Still have not answered how to pay the states. I can't collect w/o a
permit. Do I have to visit every state and see the county clerk for a
DBA, then go to every state's comptroller too for the sales/use permit?

I'm sure you have that worked out. Just tell me the procedure when you
deliver the code in an hour or so.


--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

On 11/24/2011 11:22 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:28:46 -0600, G. Morgan
wrote:




The shopping cart software I use can be configured to add a pre-set
percentage for each STATE, but that is not accurate enough. I drive 5
miles north to Montgomery Co. and there is no METRO tax of 1% like
Harris County. Sales tax by State is easy, by all the little
municipalities, it's not.



I know. The people saying it can be done will come up with all kinds
of computer necessary scenarios, like putting a man on the moon or
walking in outer space. They obviously are nuts. 50 sales tax rates?
No way.

Seems impossible to me too even with those mammoth mainframe computers
that use trays of punch cards...

Han wrote:

Doesn't zip+4 get you down to the street, rather than an area somewhere
with 100's of streets? That should get you into a database with salestax
rates.

Yes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delivery_point

--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

On 11/24/2011 9:58 AM, Nancy Young wrote:
On 11/24/2011 9:21 AM, George wrote:
On 11/23/2011 11:46 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Yes, an easier to handle ball of was. Now they will have 50 states to
deal with from one computer rather than the different ones in their
3000 local stores. The state for the shipping address with determine
the tax. Look up charts are easy.

Absolutely, there is nothing at all complicated. If you can quantify
something you can have a computer look up process that can use that
information.

Agreed, most places will likely subscribe to a service that maintains
an up-to-date sales tax database, just as many companies do for payroll
taxes.

I do think that tax collectors shouldn't need need to incur any
additional expense. So the taxing body needs to cover the cost of the
database.



There is a line on my state's income tax form where you're supposed to
be reporting all of these out-of-state purchases and cough up the sales
tax you owe. I'm pretty sure most people ignore it, besides, that would
be a lot of purchases to keep track of.

Reality is that the states can't just ignore it anymore. It's a lot of
revenue lost.

And a completely unfair system. Brick and mortar stores are required to
be a tax collector while others aren't.


nancy

G. Morgan wrote in
:

We don't have a state income tax in TX, but you can *deduct* itemized
sales tax paid from your federal return (or take the default amount).


I know, but we are talking about charging sales tax by (little) companies.
When the immunity from charging salestax to an out of state customer is
lifted, the companies (big or little) will need to know how much to charge
to Joe Bloe in East Overshoes in some other state, plus which agency to
remit that to. I was saying that a national database relying on zip+4
could probably do that fairly easily, and I'd say that most states would be
willing to fund that database.

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

G. Morgan wrote in
:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

More energy has been expended by the naysayers here than it will take
to put the program in place. It is a bad as kids and homework. They
will complain for an hour about doing a 15 minute project.

Well, that settles it then. Do me a favor and whip up some code for me
if its only gonna take 15 minutes. I will pay you $100 USD for the
code. That's $400/hour; good money for you, and well spent for me
because I can't do it. You must know something I don't.

Still have not answered how to pay the states. I can't collect w/o a
permit. Do I have to visit every state and see the county clerk for a
DBA, then go to every state's comptroller too for the sales/use permit?

I'm sure you have that worked out. Just tell me the procedure when you
deliver the code in an hour or so.

As I said elsewhere in this thread, I'd bet that zip+4 (which I believe
gets you down to the specific street) would be a good way to base a
database on. States would probably like to fund the database and solve
the remittance "problem".

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

On 11/24/2011 10:45 AM, G. Morgan wrote:
Ed Pawlowski wrote:


If you can make a simple spreadsheet, you can do the sales tax thing.

You've obviously not seen the "back-end" of shopping cart software.
There is no provision on any I seen/worked with of that lets you base
tax on the buyers exact location (only State). This is not a simple
implementation from a tech. viewpoint at all. Tax has to calculated in
real-time, not by some guy reading off a spreadsheet.

I think Eds point was that if you can quantify something you can do it
with a computer. There wasn't any "shopping cart software" until that
need came along.


Plus, how is a one-man operation going to keep up with filing tax
returns in 45+ States? I'm not selling IN their state, just shipping TO
the state.


The simplest method would be it is that it gets collected by one (or a
few) organizations and gets distributed. This is very much like how
credit cards work. There are only a few gateway processors. They send
the transaction to whatever backend you use.



I'm not going out of my way to collect taxes for other states, not my
responsibility.

On 11/24/2011 11:08 AM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In ,
wrote:


Usually when you live in one town but have an address for the city next
to it, the town has a different zip code than the city. (That's my
circumstance as well.) It is very rare for cities large enough to
impose a sales tax to have the same zip codes as communities outside
that city's legal boundary.

Just along the border between Indy and Carmel/Fishers there are three
zips that cross the border (46240, 46256, 46055). Heck there is one zip
code that crosses Hancock, Hamilton, and Madison Counties. It isn't the
communities that count, it is the house that stuff is being delivered
to.


So it is a case of quantifying where the boundaries are. As I noted in
this thread even my states web site can tell someone which district they
are in based on street address even though those districts have nothing
to do with ZIP codes.

Han wrote:

G. Morgan wrote in
:

We don't have a state income tax in TX, but you can *deduct* itemized
sales tax paid from your federal return (or take the default amount).


I know, but we are talking about charging sales tax by (little) companies.
When the immunity from charging salestax to an out of state customer is
lifted, the companies (big or little) will need to know how much to charge
to Joe Bloe in East Overshoes in some other state, plus which agency to
remit that to. I was saying that a national database relying on zip+4
could probably do that fairly easily, and I'd say that most states would be
willing to fund that database.

What about getting a permit in every state? No one has answered that
yet.

This is something that has to have a Federal component or I don't see
how else it would work. I'm not sending out 46 checks every 3 months,
they will have to implement a nationwide clearinghouse that disperses
the funds to the states. Sales tax is something you don't want to fall
behind on, or make mistakes. I could not imagine having to file
quarterly in every state that has sales tax. That would almost be a
full time job in itself.

--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

I sense that the regulations will make it nearly impossible
for small business to survive. And raise the cost of doing
any kind of business. Of course, this may be the hidden
agenda from the beginning.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"G. Morgan" wrote in message
...


What about getting a permit in every state? No one has
answered that
yet.

This is something that has to have a Federal component or I
don't see
how else it would work. I'm not sending out 46 checks every
3 months,
they will have to implement a nationwide clearinghouse that
disperses
the funds to the states. Sales tax is something you don't
want to fall
behind on, or make mistakes. I could not imagine having to
file
quarterly in every state that has sales tax. That would
almost be a
full time job in itself.

--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on
nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill
us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

On 11/24/2011 10:10 AM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In ,
wrote:

n
So what is the problem? Did you ever consider the powerful databases
that exist today and how much information is in them? My little town can
definitely fit in the miniscule category and it is divided up into three
different districts. I can go to the government web site and pump in my
address and it will instantly tell me what district I am in. If I pump
in an address one block away it correctly tells me that location is in a
different district.
A database that is for one (you yourself say) small area and answering
only one question. Not really the same as one state, many counties,

I gave it as an example to show what has been done in general not just
in that area. I never indicated or suggested it was unique.

I have never looked as to the exact mandate but getting rid of PO box,
rural route addresses and ambiguous addresses has been ongoing for some
time.


untold cities, and bunches of smaller taxing districts.. and then do the
same for 50 other states. I am not saying it can't be done, I am just
saying that the burden to the company is a few orders of magnitude
different, including upkeep on your DBs. I

Han wrote:

G. Morgan wrote in
:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

More energy has been expended by the naysayers here than it will take
to put the program in place. It is a bad as kids and homework. They
will complain for an hour about doing a 15 minute project.

Well, that settles it then. Do me a favor and whip up some code for me
if its only gonna take 15 minutes. I will pay you $100 USD for the
code. That's $400/hour; good money for you, and well spent for me
because I can't do it. You must know something I don't.

Still have not answered how to pay the states. I can't collect w/o a
permit. Do I have to visit every state and see the county clerk for a
DBA, then go to every state's comptroller too for the sales/use permit?

I'm sure you have that worked out. Just tell me the procedure when you
deliver the code in an hour or so.

As I said elsewhere in this thread, I'd bet that zip+4 (which I believe
gets you down to the specific street) would be a good way to base a
database on. States would probably like to fund the database and solve
the remittance "problem".

They would have to compensate me somehow for collecting tax on their
behalf. Even if its mostly automated, its still going to take
significant time and effort to keep up. I don't mind collecting for my
own state, that's where I have a mailing address and operate from.

The law now prohibits me from collecting tax outside Texas unless I have
a physical presence in the destination state. Works for me.

I make larger personal purchases (computers, TVs) on Newegg.com
specifically for the sales-tax break AND free delivery. :-)

--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

Stormin Mormon wrote:

I sense that the regulations will make it nearly impossible
for small business to survive. And raise the cost of doing
any kind of business. Of course, this may be the hidden
agenda from the beginning.

Well, half the country is employed or self-employed by small business.

If they want to fix this f*cked up economy, they need to make it EASIER
for people to start/run their own enterprise. With all the occupational
license fees, the states should be helping out their 'customers'; not
making more hoops to jump through.

I have to pay the state of Texas for the 'privilege' of operating
legally (~$700/year). I also have to collect sales tax for Texas.
You're right, if I had to do that in every state I would not have any
margin for profit.


--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

George wrote:

The simplest method would be it is that it gets collected by one (or a
few) organizations and gets distributed. This is very much like how
credit cards work. There are only a few gateway processors. They send
the transaction to whatever backend you use.

That's a good idea. If gateways like Authorize.net build it in (and
keep the rates updated), that would work.
--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

In article , George
wrote:



So it is a case of quantifying where the boundaries are. As I noted in
this thread even my states web site can tell someone which district they
are in based on street address even though those districts have nothing
to do with ZIP codes.
Try to get the same database to give you Congressional district, House
and senate district in the state legislature, all county commissioners
and council members by district, city council members by district,
school board members, township board members by district, members of the
local transportation company (if any), and I am sure I have missed quite
a few and THEN see how it works.

--
People thought cybersex was a safe alternative,
until patients started presenting with sexually
acquired carpal tunnel syndrome.-Howard Berkowitz

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:55:45 -0600, G. Morgan
wrote:




What about getting a permit in every state? No one has answered that
yet.

This is something that has to have a Federal component or I don't see
how else it would work. I'm not sending out 46 checks every 3 months,
they will have to implement a nationwide clearinghouse that disperses
the funds to the states. Sales tax is something you don't want to fall
behind on, or make mistakes. I could not imagine having to file
quarterly in every state that has sales tax. That would almost be a
full time job in itself.

Other retailers do it now. Again, it will be a burden if the states
go after the little guy, but the big stores won't be hurt by it. The
software is available at reasonable cost. I'm not sure how it works
in other states or even in PA today (it has been over 35 years since I
collected taxes) but for the 5% collected, I kept 1% for my fee and
remitted 4% to the state. On a few million $$$ in sales, that 1%
would cover some software costs.

As for writing checks, it is usually done by bank transfer today.

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:38:08 -0500, George
wrote:



I do think that tax collectors shouldn't need need to incur any
additional expense. So the taxing body needs to cover the cost of the
database.


I don't know how it works today, but years ago, I kept a portion of
the tax collected as my fee. On big sellers, it would cover costs. I'm
sure it varies by state though.

On 25 Nov 2011 12:48:56 GMT, Han wrote:

" wrote in
:

On 24 Nov 2011 15:31:54 GMT, Han wrote:

Nancy Young email@replyto wrote in news:4ece5b8b$0$28478$a8266bb1
:

There is a line on my state's income tax form where you're supposed
to be reporting all of these out-of-state purchases and cough up the
sales tax you owe. I'm pretty sure most people ignore it, besides,
that would be a lot of purchases to keep track of.


I believe most states will adjust that line if there is no evidence to
back up a zero amount. I know NY and NJ would.

How could they possibly adjust the amount on a form and still have a
form that can hold up in a fraud case? You would be requiring people
to sign a fraudulent document.

They'll send you a bill, or reduce your refund, because they've added an
amount to that atx line assuming hehehe that is the amount you have
spent out of state on use tax-subject stuff.

....and they know this how?

How do you supply "evidence of a zero amount"? "OK, I have zero
evidence of the actual amount!"

You'll have to prove the amount NY has estimated is incorrect.

...not that I would put either past those two cesspools.

NY indeed stinks, and NJ isn't that much better. We do agree on the
politicians ...

NJ is only *slightly* better because your governor is *trying* to turn it
around. After Corizine, et. al., it's not going to happen, though. NY and NJ
will always be cesspools.

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:31:58 -0600, G. Morgan
wrote:




Still have not answered how to pay the states. I can't collect w/o a
permit. Do I have to visit every state and see the county clerk for a
DBA, then go to every state's comptroller too for the sales/use permit?

I'm sure you have that worked out. Just tell me the procedure when you
deliver the code in an hour or so.

Easy. Put the money in a bag. Tag is with the state name on it. When
the stagecoach passes through town, give the bag to them to deliver.
Here in the east, we have trains running between some cities and they
can do it too.

OR

Do it the same way dozens of multi location nationwide stores do it
now and have been for the past dozens of years. .

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:22:19 -0600, G. Morgan
wrote:

Stormin Mormon wrote:

I sense that the regulations will make it nearly impossible
for small business to survive. And raise the cost of doing
any kind of business. Of course, this may be the hidden
agenda from the beginning.

Well, half the country is employed or self-employed by small business.

Yes...

If they want to fix this f*cked up economy, they need to make it EASIER
for people to start/run their own enterprise. With all the occupational
license fees, the states should be helping out their 'customers'; not
making more hoops to jump through.

Who says "they" (Obama and co.) want to "fix" anything? If they wanted to
improve the economy, all Obama would have to do is go on more vacations and
shut his mouth. The economy would right itself soon enough.

I have to pay the state of Texas for the 'privilege' of operating
legally (~$700/year). I also have to collect sales tax for Texas.
You're right, if I had to do that in every state I would not have any
margin for profit.

So? What's your point?

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:38:08 -0500, George wrote:

On 11/24/2011 9:58 AM, Nancy Young wrote:
On 11/24/2011 9:21 AM, George wrote:
On 11/23/2011 11:46 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Yes, an easier to handle ball of was. Now they will have 50 states to
deal with from one computer rather than the different ones in their
3000 local stores. The state for the shipping address with determine
the tax. Look up charts are easy.

Absolutely, there is nothing at all complicated. If you can quantify
something you can have a computer look up process that can use that
information.

Agreed, most places will likely subscribe to a service that maintains
an up-to-date sales tax database, just as many companies do for payroll
taxes.

I do think that tax collectors shouldn't need need to incur any
additional expense. So the taxing body needs to cover the cost of the
database.

They're certainly in the best position to do so. They could then
certify/define that their database was "correct", letting merchants off the
hook.

There is a line on my state's income tax form where you're supposed to
be reporting all of these out-of-state purchases and cough up the sales
tax you owe. I'm pretty sure most people ignore it, besides, that would
be a lot of purchases to keep track of.

Reality is that the states can't just ignore it anymore. It's a lot of
revenue lost.

And a completely unfair system. Brick and mortar stores are required to
be a tax collector while others aren't.

E-tailers have to pay shipping, too. Maybe B&M stores should be forced to
charge $7.95 per transaction to cover "shipping". E-trailers take three to
ten days to deliver the products, too. Maybe retailers should require a
three-day waiting period too. "Fair" is "fair".

On 25 Nov 2011 13:43:28 GMT, Han wrote:

G. Morgan wrote in
:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

More energy has been expended by the naysayers here than it will take
to put the program in place. It is a bad as kids and homework. They
will complain for an hour about doing a 15 minute project.

Well, that settles it then. Do me a favor and whip up some code for me
if its only gonna take 15 minutes. I will pay you $100 USD for the
code. That's $400/hour; good money for you, and well spent for me
because I can't do it. You must know something I don't.

Still have not answered how to pay the states. I can't collect w/o a
permit. Do I have to visit every state and see the county clerk for a
DBA, then go to every state's comptroller too for the sales/use permit?

I'm sure you have that worked out. Just tell me the procedure when you
deliver the code in an hour or so.

As I said elsewhere in this thread, I'd bet that zip+4 (which I believe
gets you down to the specific street) would be a good way to base a
database on.

Not good enough.

States would probably like to fund the database and solve
the remittance "problem".

Likely not, or it would have been done.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I'm not sure how it works
in other states or even in PA today (it has been over 35 years since I
collected taxes) but for the 5% collected, I kept 1% for my fee and
remitted 4% to the state. On a few million $$$ in sales, that 1%
would cover some software costs.

Huh? You helped yourself to a percent for your "fee"? I don't think
that would fly here and now. That is stealing.


phone rings

me Hello, may I help you?

comptroller Yes, Mr. Morgan this is the state comptroller. Your tax
remittance was incorrect.

me Really? By how much?

comptroller Well, it looks like you only charged 4% but the rate is 5%

me Yeah, I kept 1% for my 'fee'

comptroller You did what?

me I kept 1% of the sales tax for myself, I needed some software.

comptroller Mr. Morgan, could you please come to our office to discuss
this?

me Sure, tomorrow @ 10a good?

comptroller That will be fine, thank you.

click

comptroller dials receptionist "HEY MARCY, CALL THE STATE POLICE FOR A
MEETING HERE TOMORROW AT 10AM, WE HAVE A THIEF TO DEAL WITH"


--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

On 25 Nov 2011 12:55:19 GMT, Han wrote:

" wrote in
:

On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:09:39 -0500, Peter wrote:

On 11/23/2011 11:12 AM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

A friend lived in one town but had an address for the city next to
it. I lived a couple of blocks closer to the city (same
subdivision) but had a town address. The tax rates were
substantially different. How does your simple model handle this?


Are you talking about sales tax rate or school/real estate tax rate?

Sales tax. I don't think Amazon is being asked to collect real estate
tax. ;-)

I'm very familiar with the latter, the former is less common.

Usually when you live in one town but have an address for the city
next to it, the town has a different zip code than the city. (That's
my circumstance as well.) It is very rare for cities large enough to
impose a sales tax to have the same zip codes as communities outside
that city's legal boundary.

He lived in a town outside the city but had a city address (and, of
course, zip code). His sales tax *should* have been charged at the
town rate, regardless of his city street address. It was very
difficult to get that through to anyone, though.

I actually lived between him and the city, in the same subdivision,
yet had a town address (and zip code, obviously). There is no
rationalizing the way the USPS works.

My mother's house, in a different state, also has a different postal
address city/town/village than what is recorded on the property deed,
and a different zip code. Neither jurisdiction is large enough to
have imposed their own sales tax. They do have different school
taxes.

Different issues. BTW, it doesn't take a "large city" to have a
different sales tax rate. It can even vary within a municipal entity.

Doesn't zip+4 get you down to the street, rather than an area somewhere
with 100's of streets? That should get you into a database with salestax
rates.

Not good enough.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:38:08 -0500, George
wrote:



I do think that tax collectors shouldn't need need to incur any
additional expense. So the taxing body needs to cover the cost of the
database.


I don't know how it works today, but years ago, I kept a portion of
the tax collected as my fee. On big sellers, it would cover costs. I'm
sure it varies by state though.

You better hope the statute of limitations is up!

--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

On 25 Nov 2011 12:57:54 GMT, Han wrote:

Han wrote in
:

" wrote in
:

On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:09:39 -0500, Peter wrote:

On 11/23/2011 11:12 AM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

A friend lived in one town but had an address for the city next to
it. I lived a couple of blocks closer to the city (same
subdivision) but had a town address. The tax rates were
substantially different. How does your simple model handle this?


Are you talking about sales tax rate or school/real estate tax rate?

Sales tax. I don't think Amazon is being asked to collect real
estate tax. ;-)

I'm very familiar with the latter, the former is less common.

Usually when you live in one town but have an address for the city
next to it, the town has a different zip code than the city. (That's
my circumstance as well.) It is very rare for cities large enough to
impose a sales tax to have the same zip codes as communities outside
that city's legal boundary.

He lived in a town outside the city but had a city address (and, of
course, zip code). His sales tax *should* have been charged at the
town rate, regardless of his city street address. It was very
difficult to get that through to anyone, though.

I actually lived between him and the city, in the same subdivision,
yet had a town address (and zip code, obviously). There is no
rationalizing the way the USPS works.

My mother's house, in a different state, also has a different postal
address city/town/village than what is recorded on the property deed,
and a different zip code. Neither jurisdiction is large enough to
have imposed their own sales tax. They do have different school
taxes.

Different issues. BTW, it doesn't take a "large city" to have a
different sales tax rate. It can even vary within a municipal
entity.

Doesn't zip+4 get you down to the street, rather than an area
somewhere with 100's of streets? That should get you into a database
with salestax rates.

Googling "how do i find the sales tax for a given address" gives lots of
info

It doesn't even give the right town/city.

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:37:34 -0600, G. Morgan
wrote:

Han wrote:

Doesn't zip+4 get you down to the street, rather than an area somewhere
with 100's of streets? That should get you into a database with salestax
rates.

Yes.

Wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delivery_point

Not even the right town.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Do it the same way dozens of multi location nationwide stores do it
now and have been for the past dozens of years. .

Let's concede for the moment that it would be possible to come up with some
scheme for collecting cross state taxes and remiting those collections to the
states involved. It clearly won't be free and won't be accurate, but let's live
with that for the moment.

Noone has answered the question "Under what authority does one state impose a
tax collection requirement on a business solely in another state?"

zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

I have to pay the state of Texas for the 'privilege' of operating
legally (~$700/year). I also have to collect sales tax for Texas.
You're right, if I had to do that in every state I would not have any
margin for profit.

So? What's your point?

What part did you not understand? I think what's written is pretty
straight to the point.

--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Do it the same way dozens of multi location nationwide stores do it
now and have been for the past dozens of years.

Those stores maintain a B&M presence in the states they sell to. If they
don't have a B&M location in that state; they don't have to charge sales
tax. Do try to keep up.

How is that 15 minute coding job coming along? It's so easy according
to you, let's see what you have so far.



--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

On 11/24/2011 10:31 PM, BobR wrote:


I guess you pretty much answered his question. Nothing but juvenile
insults.

Ah, I hurt your feelings too. Don't worry, Barak will take care of you, too.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You aren't capable of hurting my feelings, you have no significance.

Now that "krw" has clearly identified they have no useful or valuable
input and their only reason for being here is to childishly screw with
people for personal entertainment it makes sense to simply ignore her...

On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:59:34 -0600, G. Morgan
wrote:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I'm not sure how it works
in other states or even in PA today (it has been over 35 years since I
collected taxes) but for the 5% collected, I kept 1% for my fee and
remitted 4% to the state. On a few million $$$ in sales, that 1%
would cover some software costs.

Huh? You helped yourself to a percent for your "fee"? I don't think
that would fly here and now. That is stealing.


phone rings

me Hello, may I help you?

comptroller Yes, Mr. Morgan this is the state comptroller. Your tax
remittance was incorrect.

me Really? By how much?

comptroller Well, it looks like you only charged 4% but the rate is 5%

me Yeah, I kept 1% for my 'fee'


I just followed the instructions. The "fee" was not my idea, it was
what the state gave you for the expense of collecting. How is that
stealing?

Robert Neville wrote:

Noone has answered the question "Under what authority does one state impose a
tax collection requirement on a business solely in another state?"

Exactly! Right now, there are 1000's of "Black Friday" shoppers
converging on Wilmington, Delaware. They come from Maryland, PA, NJ...
all states with a sales tax.

Delaware has no sales tax, so does that give authorities from MD, PA, &
NJ permission to stop the shoppers at the border and cough up sales tax?
I think not.

I just had an idea, I'll open a Delaware Corp. and run everything though
that. I won't charge any sales tax to anyone!



--

"I don't like to discriminate against terrorists based on nationality.
If you declare war on the United States and you want to kill us,
We're going to kill you first, period."

October 19, 2011 - Ali Soufan (Colbert Report)

On 11/25/2011 10:39 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:55:45 -0600, G. Morgan
wrote:




What about getting a permit in every state? No one has answered that
yet.

This is something that has to have a Federal component or I don't see
how else it would work. I'm not sending out 46 checks every 3 months,
they will have to implement a nationwide clearinghouse that disperses
the funds to the states. Sales tax is something you don't want to fall
behind on, or make mistakes. I could not imagine having to file
quarterly in every state that has sales tax. That would almost be a
full time job in itself.

Other retailers do it now. Again, it will be a burden if the states
go after the little guy, but the big stores won't be hurt by it. The
software is available at reasonable cost. I'm not sure how it works
in other states or even in PA today (it has been over 35 years since I
collected taxes) but for the 5% collected, I kept 1% for my fee and
remitted 4% to the state. On a few million $$$ in sales, that 1%
would cover some software costs.

In PA merchants keep 1% of the tax collected. Not 1% of the sale price.



As for writing checks, it is usually done by bank transfer today.

Who writes checks? At least in PA the only way a merchant can remit tax
is by ACH.