Sales tax on guns bought online?

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You're talking about a use tax, not a sales tax.
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No, I'm talking about sales tax. Here in Illinois it is all called sales tax no matter who is responsible for paying it. One local dealer used to give out the state form for the recipient of an out of state gun purchase to fill out and send in with the tax; and it clearly stated it was a sales tax.

Regarding Davidsons/Gallery of Guns: You are buying from your local dealer, not from Davidsons. Like kcshooter said, they are just finding you a nearby dealer.
 
it clearly stated it was a sales tax.
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Which proves my point; regardless of what they want to call it, the fact remains it is, in essence, a USE tax. Since the in-state retailer did not sell anything in their state, they do not have a basis upon which to levy or collect a SALES tax (which is why they didn't collect the tax, but gave out forms for the buyer to do so). I suppose the same form could have been used to report and pay either since the sales and use taxes are usually the same (so as not to create an interstate commerce problem for the state).
 
Guns are like, shirts from Land's End for example; if you are from a different state than the place the item was purchased, you are not charged a sales tax.

However, most states do want you to pay a sales tax on these items, usually under the honor system for casual buyers. For example, NC has a line on their state tax forms for you to put the amount of tax owed on items you bought through the mail from other states. It serves the purpose of providing a moment of comic relief while filling out the form.

Of course, you can bet they are working on some sort of system to enforce those provisions. There have been some attempts, usually vigorously protested by large mail order firms, to come up with a system.
 
Of course, you can bet they are working on some sort of system to enforce those provisions. There have been some attempts, usually vigorously protested by large mail order firms, to come up with a system.
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National sales tax solves that kind of problem quite nicely. I'm not sure it's a good idea but it would make things simpler at the consumer level.
 
If a business has nexus in the state they must collect tax and remit it to the state. Having a substantial physical presence creates nexus. Just having one sales person regularly in state is enough to create nexus and force the business to collect tax.
 
California wants sales tax on any purchase made by a resident, even out of state purchases. The FFLs I've dealt with don't bother with sales tax from out of state transfers, say it's up to you to pay it directly to the state. Ahnold hasn't knocked on my door yet. There's even a line on the state income tax form to pay estimated tax on out of state internet purchases. Wonder how many Californians use it?

AL
 
California wants sales tax on any purchase made by a resident, even out of state purchases. The FFLs I've dealt with don't bother with sales tax from out of state transfers, say it's up to you to pay it directly to the state. Ahnold hasn't knocked on my door yet. There's even a line on the state income tax form to pay estimated tax on out of state internet purchases. Wonder how many Californians use it?
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That is normal. As an individual you are unlikely to be audited as the audit would probable cost more then the tax, interest and penalty that would be assessed.
 
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I wonder how many businesses/FFLs "claim" you have to pay state tax and just keep it for themselves. :rolleyes:
 
ArmedLiberal said:
California wants sales tax on any purchase made by a resident, even out of state purchases. The FFLs I've dealt with don't bother with sales tax from out of state transfers, say it's up to you to pay it directly to the state. Ahnold hasn't knocked on my door yet. There's even a line on the state income tax form to pay estimated tax on out of state internet purchases. Wonder how many Californians use it?

AL
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The official California Board of Equalization position on this matter is that if the firearm was shipped to a California dealer by an out of state dealer, then the California dealer is considered the seller and sales tax is due. If the firearm was shipped from a private party, the sale is tax exempt as an occassional private sale.

Here is a link to the explanation by a respected California dealer:
California Sales Tax Thread
 
If the firearm was shipped from a private party, the sale is tax exempt as an occassional private sale.
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This is an important point. A lot of "Internet sales" are private party sales/transfers. They may be facilitated by Gunbroker or a gun forum, but they're still private transactions.

Another transaction type, a trade of guns, is sometimes done. No sales tax on that type.
 
If you pay for the gun before it gets to the local FFL it may be fraudulent for them to collect taxes on a sale made out of state. If the state requires them to pay taxes on the service of the transfer, they would be required to collect taxes on the $10, $15, $20, $50 they charge for the service.
 
There was a recent thread on Florida Shooters Network about this very topic and divemedic is 100% correct. The FFL is supposed to collect sales tax and send it into the state. The thread was about a FFL on the east side of Orlando that 'stuck' a buyer for it. But to be fair, the buyer called the FFL and specifically asked and no mention of sales tax was made. The FFL casually asked what he paid for the gun and then the FFL would not release it until he coughed up the tax. That was underhanded - the FFL should have been up front about it.

The state runs a racket with furniture coming out of North Carolina. They find out about it and send a bill to your residence! I think they pay a 'reward' to the truckers and they provide the DOR with thier Bills of Lading. Nice...
 
If the merchant does not charge the tax, you are required to pay it yourself.
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This also applies in NY and NE.

The purchaser is technically required to pay a sales or use tax on ANYTHING they purchase from out of state. All those goodies from Amazon you buy? You're supposed to fill out a use tax form and remit payment to your state.

Your local FFL should not be collecting sales tax on a transferred gun since he is not selling the gun. The only thing he is selling is the transfer service which he can collect sales tax on.

However, if the out of state gun dealer you paid the few hundred dollars to for the gun did not collect sales tax, as a good citizen, you are supposed to pay it to your state. For individuals, it's on the honor system. Businesses get audited every so often to ensure compliance.
 
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