That sounds like an unenforced law to me. Billions of individual sales are made every day on the internet. I have an good accountant and attorney and neither one of them ever mentioned this. Neither did anyone I ever know. I assume they delegate a certain sum for this, as I have very little that I buy that I cannot touch.
The following is from a google search:
I’m an accountant. I don’t know about out of country purchases. But, within the U.S, the use taxes are sort of part of the sales tax laws, for those states which have a sales tax.
Every company which does business in a state is suppose to register with that state to collect and remit sales tax. Most companies do not do business in every state, but, occasionally they may sell something to a resident in a state they are not registered in. In that instance, the purchaser is required by law to pay a use tax to that state. However, the law is rarely enforced for individuals because the amount of tax is usually small. However, states will go after businesses which don’t pay use taxes. Also, you would never get anything from the IRS because there is no federal sales tax, yet. Currently only states have sales taxes
Enforcement As with any law the key is in how it is enforced. Washington State cannot go to every sales location to ensure tax is applied properly. It would be impossible. So it is up to the individual seller to keep on top of what they owe and what they need to be collecting. Failure to collect sales and use tax will lead to fines, and if the failure is "chronic" your business may even be shut down by the state. Internet sales are not exempt from sales tax, but they too are difficult to monitor and enforce. Washington has stepped up its Internet tax enforcement recently and is cracking down on sellers who have attempted to defraud the state by using this platform.
Read more: Sales & Use Tax Explained for Washington State | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/about_6317612_sales-tax-explained-washington-state.html#ixzz1KgPpBvNq
The IRS has nothing to do with this tax. It is a state tax. If your state has “sales” tax, it also has “use” tax.
So, no it is not optional. It is just difficult to enforce and audit individuals for.
————As a general rule states have limited ability to enforce use tax collections except on vehicles, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco. Registration and titling procedures cover most vehicles, and federal law allows states to gain access to the customer logs of alcoholic beverage and tobacco retailers who are involved in interstate commerce.
