Tax Dodge
If I go shopping in a state that doesn’t have sales tax, can I get fined for bringing items across state lines?
Answer:
Are you the sort of person who gets nervous ripping the label off the mattress? Technically,if you buy goods in one state and use them in another, you owe sales tax. But come on.
When I called my state’s taxation department to ask about it, the guy on the other end of the line laughed, explaining that it’s called a “use tax” but is essentially written off as an unenforceable law. “Can you imagine,” he asked, “if we searched every car that goes back and forth over a border?” (Um, the U.S.-Mexico border?) Indeed, savvy customers have long known that it sometimes pays to ship expensive items to an out-of-state friend or relative to avoid paying sales tax. But far be it for me to tell anyone to break the law.
Email This Post
