SALES TAX QUESTION

[saleen-s351]

i get you are charged sales tax on sale plus shipping but here is my question please enlighten me and make me understand this? item price was $51.96 plus $7.00 shipping making total $63.08. sales tax in pennsylvania me seller is 6%, buyer in florida is also 6% which would be $3.78. why is the sales tax from this sale $4.12 ? thats not 6%.

[maxine*j]

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@saleen-s351 wrote:

weird cause whatever store i goto its always 6 percent on receipt no matter where im at in pennsylvania.

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Then you haven't been to Pittsburgh lately, where the combined state, county, and city sales tax totals 7%;  or Philadelphia, where the total is 8%.

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[1786davycrockett]

@saleen-s351 

"this whole thing of selling something that was taxed once and now being resold again and being taxed again is **bleep**. "

Nothing new about that.  Sales tax is paid on used cars -- not just NEW cars.

Same thing with houses -- sales tax is added on, each time the house is sold.

Goodwill Industries -- Salvation Army -- St. Vincent de Paul -- all charge sales tax on used items.

So do antique stores and auction houses.

Sales tax is not just for NEW items -- it's for ALL items (with some exceptions, like food or clothing -- but not always).

[maxine*j]

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@saleen-s351 wrote:

its not all ebays fault i know, this whole thing of selling something that was taxed once and now being resold again and being taxed again is **bleep**. its funny how this world is. i was selling things on here to pay my house tax, and i am being taxed on money im using to pay tax. CRAZY

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Sales tax is not a tax on merchandise. It is a transaction tax.  It is a form of consumption tax.  Each buyer who "consumes" the item, so to speak, pays the consumption tax at the time of the transaction.

Some argue that it is one of the fairest forms of taxation, because things like groceries, school supplies, basic clothing, medicines, utilities, rent, and so, are usually exempt from sales tax. (Specific exemptions vary from state to state.)

Any tax, of course, is a burden on the poor, including taxes on used cars and second-hand mobile homes, as examples.  But, in general, people are paying sales tax on things they're buying with money they have left after taking care of the nontaxable basics -- food, clothing, shelter, utilities, medicines, etc.

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[mam98031]

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@saleen-s351 wrote:

i get you are charged sales tax on sale plus shipping but here is my question please enlighten me and make me understand this? item price was $51.96 plus $7.00 shipping making total $63.08. sales tax in pennsylvania me seller is 6%, buyer in florida is also 6% which would be $3.78. why is the sales tax from this sale $4.12 ? thats not 6%.

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Sellers are not EVER charged for sales tax.  Buyers ALWAYS pay the sales tax.  We as sellers pay a FVF on the total sale which includes shipping and sales tax.

Some states require sales tax on shipping charges and some to not.  Depends on the state.   The pics below should help.  The one for sales tax [the first pic] is the average tax in each state.  It will always vary by City and County within the state.

SALES TAX BY STATES 2023STATES THAT CHARGE SALES TAX ON SHIPPING

[soh.maryl]

In Florida, is the state sales tax charged on both the item AND the shipping cost?

And your state sales tax rate in this case has no bearing on the situation.

As was mentioned, there is probably no state where the state sales tax rate is the same all across the state.

For instance, in m town, current state sales tax is 6.25%.  Just go a little further north to shop, and you will pay about 7% or, in some cases, a little more than that.  In some areas around and south of here, the state sales tax is about 6-6.2%.  

[soh.maryl]

The state sales tax rate in your location doesn't matter.  The state sales tax rate in the seller's location has no bearing on the state sales tax that is charged to the buyer and is based on the buyer's delivery location.  

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@soh.maryl wrote:... As was mentioned, there is probably no state where the state sales tax rate is the same all across the state....

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As I mentioned above, and even provided a link, there are 8 states (plus DC) where the sales tax rate is the same throughout the state because there are no local add-ons. However, the OP's buyer is in FL, which is not one of those 8.

[soh.maryl]

Thank you.