>Bill Bartlett wrote:
> >
> > The consumer will not pay the sales tax, that
> > is the responsibility of the retailer. Just as
> > it is the responsibility of the retailer to
> > pay his rent and his wages.
>Not in Florida! If I buy a book from amazon.com I am required by
>Florida state law to write out a check for six percent of its price and
>mail it off to the Florida Department of Revenue.
That's one of the things we love about America, its weird and inventive local customs and rituals. They are even a tourist attraction.
> Not that one in a
>hundred private individuals buying goods through the mail or the
>internet in Florida ever does this,
I would be surprised if even one in a million did so. But then you are Americans, I suppose anything is possible. ;-)
>but the company I work for sends
>them itemized lists of interstate purchases and big checks every three
>months.
>
>Now if I buy a computer from dell.com they will add the six percent to
>the bill and forward it to the Department of Revenue. They are required
>by state law to offer this service - for the taxpaying convenience of
>their customers 8-) - as a condition of being allowed to operate stores
>in Florida. But as I understand it, it's still me, the buyer, who is
>responsible for making sure the state sales tax gets paid.
A quaint legal fiction, I can assure you. It is perceived wisdom that there are thousands of such weird unenforceable laws on the books in the United states.
Tell me though, what would happen if someone was to just refuse to pay the retailer the required sales tax? "Don't trouble yourself my good man," you could say, "I prefer to pay my tax myself. After all, it is legally my responsibility, so if its all the same to you I'll write them a cheque and personally mail it off to the Department of Revenue." You could tell them this is an important tenet of your religious belief, "Render unto Caesar, that which is Caesar's!"
Is it possible to get out of paying the retailer the tax this way? If so, I'm sure it is something tourists would really like to know.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas