Am I getting ripped off with "Sales Tax" on a out of state order?

[Plavan]

Here is my deal. I bough a new mid rise lift (Bend Pak) from Asedeals.com. They are located in CT and I am in CA. They are charging me sales tax.... Why? They do not have a store anywhere in CA. Bend Pak is dropshipping it for them and they are in CA but that is not a reason to charge me sales tax is it? The transaction is from CT, not CA.
This seems wrong to me. Any experience or suggestions?

[masraum]

I'm not an expert, and didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn, but I think you're getting screwed.

[the]

I would think if they are charging you California sales tax, but then not remitting the amount collected to the State of California, they are committing some kind of major crime.

You can call the California State Franchise tax board and see if their company is registered and has a California tax id number.

[legion]

Originally Posted by the

I would think if they are charging you California sales tax, but then not remitting the amount collected to the State of California, they are committing some kind of major crime.

You can call the California State Franchise tax board and see if their company is registered and has a California tax id number.

Blockbuster Video did this for years. They collected sales tax on movie rentals even though most jurisdictions did not collect a sales tax on movie rentals. IIRC, some lawyers brought a class-action suit and won a multi-million dollar settlement. The "claim form" for reimbursement from the settlement required you to provide dates and receipts. Guess who got to keep the settlement after most of it went unclaimed?

[Jim Richards]

Chad, Bend Pak is a CA company, and I'm wondering if their on-line dealers don't just take orders and have the factory drop-ship directly to their customers. If so, you are probably considered an in-state purchase subject to the sales tax of CA. I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so, my comments may be in error.

[TWork]

If the company is a CT company, doesn't have any business presence (e.g., sales outlet) in CA and isn't some type of affliate of a CA company, then they should not be charging you tax -- even if it's drop shipped from a CA company.

Edit --

I just looked at their site and their terms -- which do state upfront that they will charge sales tax in CA. I'm thinking that there's some agent/reseller relationship between ASE and Bend-Pak. Seems that perhaps Bend-Pak may be technically making the sale with some type of kickback to ASE. Who knows whether that's a legit setup or not.

[Plavan]

Jim that is exactly what they are doing, but my understanding is that since the "charge transaction" took place in CT, Bend Pak will not charge them sales tax, yet they charge me? I'm calling Bend Pak right now to see if they charge them sales tax.

[Plavan]

I called and cancelled the order. Something fishy going on there.

[NICKG]

if they have a sales rep who gets paid by them, they have to charge sales tax in that state. It is based on where ever they have employees located (it is considered a satelite facility) So if they have a regional sales rep who lives in Cali(and therefore pays payroll taxes to cali) , they have to charge sales tax

[Plavan]

Regardless, I cancelled my order. Thanks for the info.
I wanted a Bend Pak because I thought they were USA made, however they too are Chinese made as well.
I just saved myself around $400+ (lower priced and no sales tax) and went with an Atlas midrise lift from Greg Smith Equipment. Pretty much the indentical lift, and they carry the spares if Iwould ever need any.

[widebody911]

The whole sales-tax-across-state-lines is quite murky, and I'll bet in a lot of cases, pockets are being lined.

The most egregious case of attempted sales tax ripoffs has been at swap meets; I've had people try to collect sales tax on greasy used parts.