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[taxwonk]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

I think we've had this discussion already. Penske's subsequent clarification doesn't address my point, because use tax doesn't hinge upon whether the website has bricks and mortar in the state -- it hinges upon whether the state of residence imposes use tax for out-of-state purchases. If he buys from Amazon, Amazon will charge him sales tax. If he buys from MacConnection or J&R, he's got a legal duty to report the purchase and to pay a use tax that is equal to the sales tax that would have applied had it been an in-state purchase, including potentially King County's add-on.



Link. (It appears that WA's use tax is harsher than CA's, because in CA you don't have to pay use tax if you paid sales tax in the state of purchase, whereas apparently in WA you do.)

The existence of use tax means sales tax is a non-factor to the decision of where to buy, unless you have no intention of reporting taxes that are due.



I think my original post left open the possibility that Penske might find a way internally to rationalize the non-reporting of use tax.

When was the moratorium on interstate sales over the internet lifted?