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I was a bit startled by this snippet: "in Colorado State, for instance, a single zip code can contain five different tax jurisdictions and rates ranging from 2.

by ableal 13y ago

I was a bit startled by this snippet: "in Colorado State, for instance, a single zip code can contain five different tax jurisdictions and rates ranging from 2.25 percent to 8 percent" I understand that U.S. sales tax is the result of state and city rates, but that one, probably extreme, case is still curious. I also understand that, in the absence of "nexus", it falls to the buyer the theoretical obligation of self-collecting tax. Just for information, in the E.U. VAT is charged at national rates with some regional exceptions - for instance, insular territories may have more favourable rates. Sellers such as Amazon charge buyers according to the VAT for the delivery location. For instance: the UK has no tax on books, Portugal has 6%, amazon.co.uk duly collects 6% VAT on books shipped to Portugal.

hga 13y ago
That's not at all unique. I live in a Missouri zip code with at least 3, maybe 4: most of it is in one city with a base rate added to the state's, I live in a part that's not in any city, and the city has districts with additional sales taxes where that money goes for improvements to the district, or to pay back ones that were made. The plot of land on which the building I reside in has some small strips that are in another smaller city; I don't think they have their own sales tax, but they could. We also have the option of being hooked to the first city's sewer system (which for historical reasons now boils down to changing two valves and informing the city); that's not associated with any special tax, but I know other places use taxing for that, although probably few if any use sales taxes. So it's much less an extreme case than you think, and trying to force every Internet retailer to pay the right sales tax would be an absolute nightmare, pretty much requiring them to pay a hefty sum to a 3rd party that has to spend a lot of money to keep track of the multitude of differences. It would be freaking difficult for such a company to get my rate correct. And of course the state has two or three base rates, at least, perhaps 0 for some stuff, and two rates on food and perhaps essentials of certain sorts and another for everything else. That makes a variation of about a factor of 2, then the city and its special districts are under 2% as I recall.
- wj 13y ago
  The number of cities in St. Louis county is mind-boggling to me.

by ableal 13y ago

hga 13y ago

That's not at all unique. I live in a Missouri zip code with at least 3, maybe 4: most of it is in one city with a base rate added to the state's, I live in a part that's not in any city, and the city has districts with additional sales taxes where that money goes for improvements to the district, or to pay back ones that were made. The plot of land on which the building I reside in has some small strips that are in another smaller city; I don't think they have their own sales tax, but they could. We also have the option of being hooked to the first city's sewer system (which for historical reasons now boils down to changing two valves and informing the city); that's not associated with any special tax, but I know other places use taxing for that, although probably few if any use sales taxes. So it's much less an extreme case than you think, and trying to force every Internet retailer to pay the right sales tax would be an absolute nightmare, pretty much requiring them to pay a hefty sum to a 3rd party that has to spend a lot of money to keep track of the multitude of differences. It would be freaking difficult for such a company to get my rate correct. And of course the state has two or three base rates, at least, perhaps 0 for some stuff, and two rates on food and perhaps essentials of certain sorts and another for everything else. That makes a variation of about a factor of 2, then the city and its special districts are under 2% as I recall.

wj 13y ago
The number of cities in St. Louis county is mind-boggling to me.