Amazon shoppers will squeeze through Calif. tax loophole

[Ns1]

Haha, buy anything interesting?

dude what didn't I buy?

immersion blender, 6 cans tuna, 12 cans spam, lodge logic skillet, condoms, sex toys, camping supplies, bakers rack, lots and lots of coffee supplies...

next round tonight is more coffee supplies.


Seriously, 10 boxes shipped 2 day, free w/ Prime Purchased everything on Sunday night, things started arriving yesterday. LOVE amazon.

 

[0roo0roo]

Damn, 9.75% tax rate and they have how many problems? I thought NY was brutal (well it is, but (8.7%).

tax is shifted, i'm sure in many other areas you pay more taxes than ca.

ca has proposition 13, which limits property taxes, and creates 2/3 requirement for raising tax, meaning the spending which of course inevitably rises is not paid for, and the repub contingent is against any compromise makes sure we have debt rather than paying for what is necessary.

which isn't all that different from what happens in dc. the repubs are hardly against say military spending, but they won't dare raise a tax to pay for it, instead they'll pretend they are the responsible ones...

 

[drebo]

As I understand it, those fullfilled items - they're still maintained in Amazon's warehouse. The seller's of those items pay a daily fee to Amazon for storing them.

How is renting space for your merchandise NOT having a physical presence?

And, highland175 raises a good point. You *know* that Amazon, etc., are keeping records of who bought what. What happens if some state figures out how to manipulate some obscure law that's been on the books for years in order to force the release of that data. Penalties and interest for everyone who dodged paying the sales tax?

Outsourcing fulfillment isn't a new thing. And it's not a physical presence. The items may be there, but they aren't renting physical space to store them. They're paying Amazon to act as a logistics company. Not the same thing.

Lots of large distributors do this.

 

[Craig234]

Hopefully Amazon ups their catalog of things that they fulfill for other companies

Hopefully you pay the taxes you owe.

And they close loopholes.

 

[SAWYER]

Im sure all the people in favor of higher taxes will be allowed to pay extra and Im sure they will do it without hesitation

 

[Craig234]

condoms, sex toys...

Man, you prepare for even really unlikely scenarios.

 

[Craig234]

Im sure all the people in favor of higher taxes will be allowed to pay extra and Im sure they will do it without hesitation

You're confused on the concept of a tax.

Government by donation doesn't work.

 

[SAWYER]

I was being a smartass, not a serious comment

 

[olds]

Been wondering if this would be the case... happy to hear it, but still sad at the overall demise of our "tax holiday".

I've got about $700 of shit in my cart right now. Need to hit that checkout button in the next few days...

This

 

[lothar]

Amazon just needs to set up a bunch of shells. Sold by Amazon of Louisiana, fulfilled by Amazon of California.

They already have.

 

[paperfist]

tax is shifted, i'm sure in many other areas you pay more taxes than ca.

ca has proposition 13, which limits property taxes, and creates 2/3 requirement for raising tax, meaning the spending which of course inevitably rises is not paid for, and the repub contingent is against any compromise makes sure we have debt rather than paying for what is necessary.

which isn't all that different from what happens in dc. the repubs are hardly against say military spending, but they won't dare raise a tax to pay for it, instead they'll pretend they are the responsible ones...

Well when it comes down to it the 1% difference in tax rates is nothing anyway. The rate just looks rather shocking. We have property tax limits, but with loop holes so we basically have filthy, no good politicians like CA .

 

[1prophet]

As I understand it, those fullfilled items - they're still maintained in Amazon's warehouse. The seller's of those items pay a daily fee to Amazon for storing them.

How is renting space for your merchandise NOT having a physical presence?

And, highland175 raises a good point. You *know* that Amazon, etc., are keeping records of who bought what. What happens if some state figures out how to manipulate some obscure law that's been on the books for years in order to force the release of that data. Penalties and interest for everyone who dodged paying the sales tax?

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2005/01/17/191/35148

 

[NutBucket]

I was being a smartass, not a serious comment

Not sure if you're in CA but there actually is a line on the state income tax form for "extra contributions". There's no benefit except you choosing to give the state more money by your own free will.

This was done in response to some politician claiming "lots" of Californians would pay more taxes if they could. I'm sure they've collected $0.00 this way

 

[Chiropteran]

I'm not saying it would be an incredibly unpopular thing to do... Everyone knows that. But, do you think it's the *right* thing to do? (Morally, ethically?)

I don't.

Retroactive enforcement is very unethical.

Take driving for instance. When you speed, you know you might get a ticket, that is fine, you are apparently willing to take that risk and if you get pulled over and ticketed you will probably end up paying the ticket. Around here, people are ALWAYS speeding on the interstates. 55mph, most drivers drive like 60 is the legal minimum and it's not that rare to see people speeding past you even if you are going 70.

Just imagine what would occur if the police decided to start monitoring people's speeds, recording the speeders for a year, and then retroactively ticket them all for every day the were speeding. Average ticket of $60, 400 per year, $24,000 in tickets for each and every commuter who drives on i495 twice a day. Do you think that would go over well? Do you think that is ethical?

Laws are not well known or understood by most people. Enforced laws are remembered, but an unenforced law might as well not exist.

Intentionally leaving a law unenforced for years and then going back and retroactively penalizing everyone who broke the law in the past is incredibly unethical.

 

[Tommy2000GT]

good. the CA politicians don't need anymore money

 

[shortylickens]

California doesnt need more money. It needs to manage what it has, better.
A big part of that is quit giving so many free handouts and subsidized crap.

 

[dr150]

When it's fulfilled by Amazon, I always thought they are legit goods from Amazon (ordered by Amazon via the "seller"?).

For instance, I bought an Apple power brick via a fulfilled by Amazon seller. Reviews said that many Amazon sellers sent them fake crap power bricks, but the sellers associated w/ Amazon Fulfilment sent the real McCoy. Sure enough the power brick I received was legit! :thumbsup:

 

[Craig234]

California doesnt need more money. It needs to manage what it has, better.
A big part of that is quit giving so many free handouts and subsidized crap.

Clueless blather.

 

[shortylickens]

Clueless blather.

What makes me clueless? The fact I dont think exactly like you. I lived out there many years. I read a lot of books on the subject (curiosity and boredom) and I take a look at the states issues every once in a while.


Sounds to me like your the one who's clueless. But unlike myself you didnt verify your hypothesis and instead chose to make assumptions.

 

[Craig234]

I don't.

Retroactive enforcement is very unethical.

Take driving for instance. When you speed, you know you might get a ticket, that is fine, you are apparently willing to take that risk and if you get pulled over and ticketed you will probably end up paying the ticket. Around here, people are ALWAYS speeding on the interstates. 55mph, most drivers drive like 60 is the legal minimum and it's not that rare to see people speeding past you even if you are going 70.

Just imagine what would occur if the police decided to start monitoring people's speeds, recording the speeders for a year, and then retroactively ticket them all for every day the were speeding. Average ticket of $60, 400 per year, $24,000 in tickets for each and every commuter who drives on i495 twice a day. Do you think that would go over well? Do you think that is ethical?

Laws are not well known or understood by most people. Enforced laws are remembered, but an unenforced law might as well not exist.

Intentionally leaving a law unenforced for years and then going back and retroactively penalizing everyone who broke the law in the past is incredibly unethical.

Try another analogy: you are a burglar and steal for a year, and the police don't investigate a lot. You have decked out your place with the stolen goods.

But then they hire an investigator who tracks down the latest burglary to you, and hhe finds all the stolen stuff you have.

Should he say 'hey, you can keep all the old stuff because it's not nice when you thought you got away with that and had the stuff', or should he confiscate the stolen goods?

 

[uberman]

Sweeeeeeet! Though third party sellers tend to be more expensive.

Actually that's not neccessairly true. I've spent the morning checking the new prices on Amazon. They're bad. So I did some comparison shopping. Many vendors are happy to sell at Amazon prices or less. Forget Amazon's price hike.

Example: Nikon Coolpix 8200 - 16.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 14x Optical Zoom NIKKOR ED Glass Lens and Full HD 1080p Video

This camera rocks. I've bought 2 of them. I paid $199.00 at Amazon in the past.

$199.00 at Amazon New price with $6.08 shipping and $18.46 tax is now $223.54.

One simple Google search and first hit is $199.00 at B&H Photo in NYC.

That was my first hit. I used to buy lots of camera gear from NYC in the mid-70s. There were many ads in the back of the magazine Popular Photography. I'm sure there are many vendors that are happy to fill orders rather than keep things in their warehouses.

THANKS!! a bunch for the news OP.

 

[wirednuts]

this web sales tax thing is getting out of hand. i wish they would just abolish it. anything you buy online, should mean no tax. so what if it means retail stores start vanishing. they look ugly and i dont like going to them anyway. only box stores i like going to is for clothes, for obvious reasons.

 

[Ns1]

Seller: amazon.co.uk, fulfilled by amazon.com

Feasible? Lol

 

[Tommy2000GT]

When it's fulfilled by Amazon, I always thought they are legit goods from Amazon (ordered by Amazon via the "seller"?).

For instance, I bought an Apple power brick via a fulfilled by Amazon seller. Reviews said that many Amazon sellers sent them fake crap power bricks, but the sellers associated w/ Amazon Fulfilment sent the real McCoy. Sure enough the power brick I received was legit! :thumbsup:

no. it's when sellers send their products to Amazon's warehouses to store and ship for them. And Amazon will take care of the transaction. So sellers can send in counterfeit goods to Amazon.

 

[Sepen]

Same thing here in NY, for the last two years or so.