4 ms·

The consumers are taxed but if you have nexus and don't collect the tax then the business becomes fully liable for the uncollected tax.

vkou 9y ago
What I don't understand is why you need to have a local presence to be affected at sales tax. Why on earth should selling goods from Oregon in Seattle not be subject to Washington sales tax, but selling goods from Seattle to Seattle be subject to it? This punishes local businesses, and encourages tax arbitrage. As far as I see it, if you sell to residents of Washington, you have a presence in Washington.
- zifnab06 9y ago
  In Washington, you're supposed to pay use tax on any untaxed item brought into the state. I don't know anyone who does though.
  - Aloha 9y ago
    I wouldn't even know how
- astura 9y ago
  They are subject to tax. You're supposed to pay "use tax" for things you buy from outside of your tax jurisdiction and didn't pay sales tax on. That's absolutely everything, technically. For my state you're supposed to report all your out of state purchases on your income tax return. The reason is because a given jurisdiction has no power to tax a business in another jurisdiction. They can tax you though,you are in their jurisdiction.
- coin 9y ago
  Washington can't force a company located outside of WA to pay taxes.
  - vkou 9y ago
    If they are selling goods inside WA, surely they are located in WA. I mean, I can claim to be located on the moon for all good it does me, but if I do business in WA, surely I have a presence there, and that business must comply with WA laws.
- Spooky23 9y ago
  Unless an interstate agreement is in place, Washington has no business telling Oregonians what to do. The local nexus concept is that once you have a presence in the state, you’re obliged to follow the laws of that state. I live in New York. If I ship FBA inventory to my agent (Amazon) in a California warehouse, California wants me to follow their law. Makes sense, and is easily avoided by not using Amazon FBA. Amazon plays it both ways. They get to avoid collecting sales tax by claiming to be just a fulfillment house, but they market in such a way that it is difficult to buy from them. In the process of making that argument, they push that legal liability to the smaller entities who use their site. Amazon is the asshole here.
- ghaff 9y ago
  >As far as I see it, if you sell to residents of Washington, you have a presence in Washington. The Supreme Court disagrees. The buyer still owes use tax if their state requires it. But the out-of-state seller with no nexus in the state has no obligation to collect that tax or provide information under most circumstances to the state in which the purchase was made.
- viggity 9y ago
  Because Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 is the Commerce Clause and it states that only congress is allowed to regulate interstate commerce. Do you really want to have trade wars between Washington and Oregon? Oregon tariff/taxes the fuck out of software and Washington responds by tariffing the fuck out of whatever Oregon makes a lot of? (probably weird shit, I've been to Portland once).

vkou 9y ago

What I don't understand is why you need to have a local presence to be affected at sales tax. Why on earth should selling goods from Oregon in Seattle not be subject to Washington sales tax, but selling goods from Seattle to Seattle be subject to it? This punishes local businesses, and encourages tax arbitrage. As far as I see it, if you sell to residents of Washington, you have a presence in Washington.

zifnab06 9y ago
In Washington, you're supposed to pay use tax on any untaxed item brought into the state. I don't know anyone who does though.
- Aloha 9y ago
  I wouldn't even know how
astura 9y ago
They are subject to tax. You're supposed to pay "use tax" for things you buy from outside of your tax jurisdiction and didn't pay sales tax on. That's absolutely everything, technically. For my state you're supposed to report all your out of state purchases on your income tax return. The reason is because a given jurisdiction has no power to tax a business in another jurisdiction. They can tax you though,you are in their jurisdiction.
coin 9y ago
Washington can't force a company located outside of WA to pay taxes.
- vkou 9y ago
  If they are selling goods inside WA, surely they are located in WA. I mean, I can claim to be located on the moon for all good it does me, but if I do business in WA, surely I have a presence there, and that business must comply with WA laws.
Spooky23 9y ago
Unless an interstate agreement is in place, Washington has no business telling Oregonians what to do. The local nexus concept is that once you have a presence in the state, you’re obliged to follow the laws of that state. I live in New York. If I ship FBA inventory to my agent (Amazon) in a California warehouse, California wants me to follow their law. Makes sense, and is easily avoided by not using Amazon FBA. Amazon plays it both ways. They get to avoid collecting sales tax by claiming to be just a fulfillment house, but they market in such a way that it is difficult to buy from them. In the process of making that argument, they push that legal liability to the smaller entities who use their site. Amazon is the asshole here.
ghaff 9y ago
>As far as I see it, if you sell to residents of Washington, you have a presence in Washington. The Supreme Court disagrees. The buyer still owes use tax if their state requires it. But the out-of-state seller with no nexus in the state has no obligation to collect that tax or provide information under most circumstances to the state in which the purchase was made.
viggity 9y ago
Because Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 is the Commerce Clause and it states that only congress is allowed to regulate interstate commerce. Do you really want to have trade wars between Washington and Oregon? Oregon tariff/taxes the fuck out of software and Washington responds by tariffing the fuck out of whatever Oregon makes a lot of? (probably weird shit, I've been to Portland once).