Music Direct Tax Policy

There are many different 5$ bills in circulation. That was one iteration.

 

It gets better. Gas is double the price, too.

 

Wow, that is really nasty, because unless people are really good at arithmetic they will never notice that they were overcharged.

 

I want online purchases to show the tax rate. They all show something like
Order Total: $10.00
Sales Tax: $3.33
Total: $13.33

I want it to clearly show
33.3% Sales Tax: $3.33

In person retail purchases too.

 

For both of the merchants, they actually had the old, higher sales tax rate printed on the receipt, so it was obvious (and did the math after the fact to confirm). Sorry for not mentioning that.

Doug

 

You guys must be making in-state purchases from these companies. I just ordered something the other day from Crutchfield and was not charged sales tax. I know Amazon is starting to do this on a state-by-state basis with their third party sellers...didn't realize so many other outfits were now collecting sales tax.

 

Nope, not IL, out of state. Lots of online places charging tax now. The states are hungry for money. If your state collects sales tax, it expects disbursements from online merchants.

I might try to find out who owns the company and put it to he/she why they aren’t properly collecting state tax.

 

I believe all online and mailorder retailers are supposed to now. Some won't until they get a stern letter from the IRS or get sued by the IRS or State tax agencies.

 

I was told a couple of months ago by an online retailer that it depends on how much commerce your state does with the state in which the retailer resides.

 

I pay sales tax at Music Direct from out of state. I am pretty sure I have paid sales tax at Crutchfield, too, but I’d have to look back as it’s been a while since my last order. Amazon has always charged me sales tax for “sold by Amazon” items, but some third-party sellers still have no tax.

 

I know a little about this in my professional life. The Supreme Court gave states the ok to tax online sales to out of state customers, but left it to the individual states to set thresholds, which they're still doing. This is why SHF members are noticing this at different times rather than all at once.

The order processing software most on line vendors used is not able to keep up with the pace of change, which is why most vendors are saying the hell with it and charging the highest possible rate as a means of covering their own behinds. I can't blame them for this, because the states can go after owners or financial staff personally if they under collect. SHF members who live in some of the southern states can elaborate, but my understanding is that each city has their own sales tax rate or something close to it.

At the moment, Amazon and another company by the name of Avalera are the 800 lb gorillas in terms of accurate sales tax collection. Eventually, someone will create an inexpensive plug in that will update rates and rules in real time but until then, sales tax savings will no longer be a reason to save money on line. Skipping that brownie I don't need will be a good reason to continue ordering from home, however.

 

Yes, this is true for me as well...but only because Amazon has a nexus (distribution facility) in my city/state.

 

The Node 2i I ordered was $499.99 total including shipping - nothing else. Must have something to do with the amount of business they do in WI opposed to KS.

 

Income tax on high wage earners is NOT 10% or even 6% here in AZ. Moreover, the wealthy can afford 'tax attorneys' to help them avoid the taxes they do pay that the poor and middle class simply can't afford to hire. And before you take issue with what I said, know that I assisted one of the top tax attorneys in the USA when I worked at Chadbourne & Parke. I saw how he helped his wealthy clients avoid paying taxes by forming LLCs and other entities, as well as other tax avoidance schemes - all legal, but which we the middle class cannot partake in.

 

That's the actual law (nexus = taxes).

But more and more states are bullying retailers to collect taxes even though the retailer has no nexus in their state. Basically, they have lots of taxpayer-funded lawyers that they will use to threaten businesses. Your tax dollars at work.

So now businesses are charging taxes even for states for which they have no legal obligation to collect them, because the states are bullying them into collecting them.

Thank your state politicians.

 

I actually was misremembering, and it turns out I have not paid sales tax at Crutchfield.

 

Just for fun, I put a Node 2i in my cart and went thru the checkout process at Music Direct. Same as Crutchfield, no sales tax. I also checked my receipt for a recent music purchase I made from Music Direct - same thing.

If they are doing this based on the volume of business they do in a particular state, then this just must be a benefit for me as an audiophile living in the great state of KS. LOL

 

The Supreme Court changed this and gave states the ok. And state politicians still suck!