No more buying from Amazon starting on July 1 for me!

[Armanius]

Amazon will start collecting sales tax from Texas residents. Bummer. BH and Adorama's gain!

Amazon, Texas Reach Deal to Settle Sales-Tax Spat - WSJ.com

 

[Luke]

Won't you have all the new cameras by then anyways?

 

[Armanius]

LOL! Not at the rate the OMD is becoming available!

I need to move to a state w/ no sales tax, no property tax, and no state/county/municipal/city/school district income tax.

Monaco it is then!

 

[Crsnydertx]

Hope the OMD gets shipped before then!

 

[Armanius]

Hope the OMD gets shipped before then!

At the current rate, it may not ship before July 1!

 

[Landshark]

At the current rate, it may not ship before July 1!

if that

 

[texascbx]

I will just buy elsewhere.

 

[Luke]

I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but buying online does not mean you shouldn't be paying taxes on your purchase. If you buy online from out of state and are not charged sales tax, you are supposed to be paying a use tax to your state.
The myth of tax free internet sales « The Ecommerce Blog

As more and more transactions take place on the internet and states begin losing revenue streams from sales tax, they are going to start searching for those use taxes that are not being reported. Probably better to just report it than to get caught and have to pay penalties and interest.

And please don't shoot the messenger for delivering the message. I don't like it anymore than you do. One solution is to move to a state without sales tax and buy everything local. Hello New Hampshire, Maryland, Montana, Oregon and Alaska.

 

[Crsnydertx]

Luke, you're right, of course. I would be happy to see all online merchants collect sales tax; that would have the added benefit of eliminating one disadvantage bricks-and-mortar stores experience today. I would gladly go across town to Houston Camera Exchange rather than buy online; the store will pay the sales tax on my behalf and I won't have to hassle with use tax forms.

 

[Armanius]

It sure seems like we get taxed on just about everything. Growing up, I used to see income tax as "the" tax of all taxes. Sales tax was the next big tax. But as an adult now, I'm encountering taxes and fees at every corner. And not all the taxes and fees are obvious. So at the end of the day, and this is just a guesstimate, I'm thinking that at least 50-60 cents of every dollar that I earn goes to the government. I'm assuming that the keeper rate is even lower for folks in NY or CA. I need to stop thinking about this or else it'll drive me insane (more than I already am).

 

[Luke]

I know what you mean Armando. I wish everything were a little more transparent. We're taxed on money we make AND money we spend and then there's even taxes that are recurring for things that we already bought and were taxed on?!?! (I'm thinking of property taxes and DMV type taxes). It's enough to make you feel helpless. I just try not to think about it.

 

[Armanius]

I hear ya Luke. You hit the nail on the head. We get taxed both ways. I understand taxation is needed for basic services, infrastructure and defense. On the other hand, I find myself paying monthly fees for basic services anyway, such as water and sewage fees! So what happened to the taxes I already paid? And that's just one very small example. Aaaaarghhh!!!

 

[Andrewteee]

It sure seems like we get taxed on just about everything. Growing up, I used to see income tax as "the" tax of all taxes. Sales tax was the next big tax. But as an adult now, I'm encountering taxes and fees at every corner. And not all the taxes and fees are obvious.

Fees are the new taxes. There are limits to what companies can tax, but they charge all kinds of fees. So just call it a fee and you're good to go.

Phone bills, car rentals... more fees than I can count.

 

[Armanius]

Fees are the new taxes. There are limits to what companies can tax, but they charge all kinds of fees. So just call it a fee and you're good to go.

Phone bills, car rentals... more fees than I can count.

Yes!!! I rent a car and other than sales tax, there are 3-4 other "fees." Ridiculous!!

 

[Armanius]

Hope the OMD gets shipped before then!

At the current rate, it may not ship before July 1!

Chuck, looks like the OMD from Amazon really might not make it before July 1!!! Just got this email today, and the 14-42 kit is supposedly the easiest to come across!

"Olympus OM-D E-M5 16MP Live MOS Interchangeable Lens Camera with 3.0-Inch Tilting OLED Touchscreen and 14-42mm Lens (Black)"
Estimated arrival date: June 08, 2012 - July 05, 2012"

 

[Ray Sachs]

LOL! Not at the rate the OMD is becoming available!

I need to move to a state w/ no sales tax, no property tax, and no state/county/municipal/city/school district income tax.

Monaco it is then!

You're gonna need a yacht to live in Monaco, and I haven't researched it, but I'm not sure they make 'em big enough to hold all of your cameras...

And as onerous as taxes can seem at times, we're taxed less in the US than pretty much any developed nation, although I'm not sure whether that includes all of the little state and local taxes and fees we get nickel'd and dime'd with. We also pay less for food and gas even though both will inevitably continue to go up - we just don't know how good we have it in the US...

-Ray