Posted by Rick Denney on March 02, 2000 at 12:31:19:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Brasswind dealings? posted by TC on March 01, 2000 at 17:59:04:
In most states, Use Tax applies for purchases by businesses for resale, but that are instead "used" by the business. Normally, purchases for resale are exempt from sales tax, given that sales tax only applie to the final retail sale. Use tax applies for wholesale purchases intended for resale but instead are used.
This varies, of course, and the term "use tax" might be used colloquially for tax owed on out-of-state purchases. Some states require sales tax to be collected if the seller has a store or address is the buyer's state. More and more states require sales tax to be collected when the point of sale is in their state (including on the Internet). No state that I'm aware of requires you to pay sales or use tax on a purchase you made in another state, even if you then bring the product home; presumably you would have paid the sales tax in the state where you bought the item.
Many states require you to pay sales tax directly to the state if not collected by the seller, and the obligation for knowing the law resides with the buyer. Most states, though, also provide exceptions for occasional sales, though the exception usually relieves the occasional seller of collecting sales tax rather than the occasional buyer.
That said, few states have enforcement mechanisms for occasional sales, and I'd bet the people in the local tax office would break their jaw on the floor if you walked in to pay the tax on a mailorder purchase.