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Has anyone gotten the amazon email about back taxes you may owe the state of Tennessee?
WTF???? I guess I am just dense, but I was under the impression that TN residents did not have to pay taxes to amazon due to an agreement that Gov. Bredesen made with Amazon.
They are telling me that I owe taxes on almost $800 worth of purchases from last year.
anybody else get this and as confused as I am? ???
Last Edit: May 2, 2012 10:40:25 GMT -5 by Deleted - Back to Top
Here's two articles on it. Short story is that yes, thanks to our wonderous state government, you are supposed to be paying up now for stuff you have already bought.
Post by Dave Maynar on May 2, 2012 10:48:48 GMT -5
I'm no lawyer, but I don't see how they can make the tax retroactive since it was not in place at the time of purchase. That's the issue I have with it.
From what I understand, this kind of sales tax collection has always been in place. It's always been up to the consumer to fill out the paperwork and submit the taxes owed. But no one has ever really known about it or done it. Now amazon is letting you know about it.
I'm no lawyer, but I don't see how they can make the tax retroactive since it was not in place at the time of purchase. That's the issue I have with it.
Yep agreed. If it was not in the total that I agreed to pay at the time of sale, then I don't see how I should be expected to pay it after the fact.
and no, Roofan, you are not dense. I read the entire E-mail and didn't understand what they were trying to tell me except how much my taxes *would* have been ???
Ya signed into law late March 2012 then you send me a bill for 2011. Don't think I'll be paying that this year. 2014 though they will start charging tax on all purchases when you checkout.
I'm actually surprised it took TN so long to win this case. In NC we have an income tax and there is a section where you are supposed to be "estimate" you out of state spending and pay sales tax on it. For TN to collect they must have won the right to have force Amazon to report sales back to a specific date.
When I was blogging I had been selling some things on Amazon and when they refused to allow their records to be reviewed they stopped allowing NC residents to do affiliate sales.
That said, without a state tax in place I don't see how they can sollect. Sorry for you guys, it really sucks.
I'm curious if they can force us to pay. I mean, technically, if you don't pay, it's against the law. But as I said earlier, this law has been in place for ages (according to the articles since 1947).... and I have never known someone to pay taxes on something they ordered online or even through a catalog.
So are they going to arrest everyone that doesn't pay? Because I'm pretty sure that would be most people.
Very few people choose to pay their use tax, and states don't do much to enforce collection. Here's a quote from a 5/1/12 article on the subject (linked below):
"Updated figures compiled in a Minnesota state House report show just how rarely taxes on Internet transactions and other untaxed goods is collected. A mere 1.6 percent of taxpayers in surveyed states reported use tax on their 2009 income returns, amounting to totals that would hardly register on state budgets. Only California and New York reported use tax revenues exceeding $5 million."
TN doesn't have the money to try to come after everyone that use Amazon. Lol. They can't balance the TENNCARE budget, their gonna fund a massive round up? HA. Then what? How much cash woyuld they spent just sending notices out? Plus, pretty sure my Amazon is under my middle name. I should change my last night on there to something wonky.
Tennessee has a bill going through the house right now that if you don't pay your use tax they will hire a team of Ninjas to run throughout the state pickpocketing all offenders.
~All the accumulated knowledge, experience, and suffering of mankind is inside you. You must build a huge bonfire within you. Then you will become an individual. There is no other way.
~~~U.G. Krishnamurti
"I don't know whose water this is, but I'm drinkin it so F you."~~~Dale
"He is a wook in sheep's clothing."~~~Popsicle Sarah
"You know the feeling when you're in too deep, and when you make it out, the taste - so sweet." ~~DMB
Tennessee has a bill going through the house right now that if you don't pay your use tax they will hire a team of Ninjas to run throughout the state pickpocketing all offenders.
I really wouldn't be surprised, with all the other asinine stuff that has been going through the legislature lately.
~All the accumulated knowledge, experience, and suffering of mankind is inside you. You must build a huge bonfire within you. Then you will become an individual. There is no other way.
~~~U.G. Krishnamurti
"I don't know whose water this is, but I'm drinkin it so F you."~~~Dale
"He is a wook in sheep's clothing."~~~Popsicle Sarah
"You know the feeling when you're in too deep, and when you make it out, the taste - so sweet." ~~DMB
JHOinTN
Bleary-Eyed Bonnawook Resident Prince Licker
Dearly Beloved, We are Gathered Here Today to Get Through This Thing Called Life
Got my e-mail today. I didn't buy much apparently, only $112 worth of stuff. Here's what it says at the end on the e-mail:
"While Amazon.com LLC does not report this information directly to the state of Tennessee we are required to provide this information to you based on Tennessee Code T.C.A. § 67-6-5 (f)(3) signed into law March 23, 2012."
So the state has no idea if we owe taxes or not, unless Amazon tells them. Therefore, I can't see how we'd get busted for not paying.
Other states collect taxes on Amazon purchases. My impression is that, due to legal persuasion, Amazon has to send out these notices and you are technically required to pay the tax. Unfortunately for the state, no entity exists that has the capacity to actually enforce the collection.
Post by Dave Maynar on May 3, 2012 14:14:03 GMT -5
Yeah, Tennessee had given Amazon an exemption on this for a long time, but the uproar started when they decided to build a distribution plant in Chattanooga. Some retailers with stores and an online prescence, like Wal-Mart, complained that Amazon not charging sales tax was an unfair advantage. Amazon said they would go to another state if the exemption got lifted. Haslam called their bluff and here we are.
Now, please take some time in your day to enjoy the humor of Wal-Mart calling out another business on business ethics and fair competition.
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