4 ms·

Where I live in California, the sales tax is different between cities. Leading up to July 4, fireworks are not legal to sell in every city, so you can tell cit

Where I live in California, the sales tax is different between cities. Leading up to July 4, fireworks are not legal to sell in every city, so you can tell city boundaries by where the booths selling them are set up. Which city you're in is also important if you want to set them off legally. Local laws and regulations also have much subtler effects that help shape which cities are desirable to live in, but those aren't going to be as obvious if you're just passing through.

masonic 8y ago
Where I live in California, the sales tax is different between cities. What city? Supplemental sales taxes vary by county in almost all circumstances. Generally, people can't really be sure what city they are in (if any) when away from home. Street address "city" has no legal meaning except for the convenience of the Post Office. A Saratoga address might actually be in Los Gatos, or vice-versa, or outside all city limits. The atomic unit us the parcel; the parcel distinguishes the city (if any). There are islands of unincorporated land all over San Jose.
- daveFNbuck 8y ago
  I live in Redwood City, which in November passed a 0.5% city sales tax. It does look like you're currently right though. Going between cities only changed the sales tax because the cities I was going between were in different counties.
  - masonic 8y ago
    Redwood City, which in November passed a 0.5% city sales tax ... which hasn't taken effect yet.
    - daveFNbuck 8y ago
      That's why I said they were currently right.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > Supplemental sales taxes vary by county in almost all circumstances. There are lots of cities in CA with supplemental sales tax; for a partial list, see [0] and note the table under “Cities with highest combined sales tax rates by county”, every listed entry that isn't “countywide” results from either a city or sub-county special district (or both) having a local supplemental sales tax, and the listing only includes the cities with the highest such taxes in each county. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_and_use_taxes_in_California https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_and_use_taxes_in_Calif...

masonic 8y ago

Where I live in California, the sales tax is different between cities. What city? Supplemental sales taxes vary by county in almost all circumstances. Generally, people can't really be sure what city they are in (if any) when away from home. Street address "city" has no legal meaning except for the convenience of the Post Office. A Saratoga address might actually be in Los Gatos, or vice-versa, or outside all city limits. The atomic unit us the parcel; the parcel distinguishes the city (if any). There are islands of unincorporated land all over San Jose.

daveFNbuck 8y ago
I live in Redwood City, which in November passed a 0.5% city sales tax. It does look like you're currently right though. Going between cities only changed the sales tax because the cities I was going between were in different counties.
- masonic 8y ago
  Redwood City, which in November passed a 0.5% city sales tax ... which hasn't taken effect yet.
  - daveFNbuck 8y ago
    That's why I said they were currently right.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> Supplemental sales taxes vary by county in almost all circumstances. There are lots of cities in CA with supplemental sales tax; for a partial list, see [0] and note the table under “Cities with highest combined sales tax rates by county”, every listed entry that isn't “countywide” results from either a city or sub-county special district (or both) having a local supplemental sales tax, and the listing only includes the cities with the highest such taxes in each county. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_and_use_taxes_in_California https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_and_use_taxes_in_Calif...