OT: Inter-state shipping regulations in your country?

States here have virtually no say in interstate commerce. That is spelled out in the Constitution... interstate commerce is by Federal regulation... and Obama is going out of his way to f*ck up the whole country :-( ...Jim Thompson

On a sunny day (Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:57:32 +0530) it happened "Pimpom" wrote in :

When I order something from the states, last time I got a letter from customs if I wanted to pay the extra duties :-( So I objected (procedure), that did not help, so I payed and received the goods. I think there is a minimum free amount, but not sure. I also had to write on a form what it was that I ordered, so they can say 19% VAT or 6% or whatever. Best is perhaps to say educational material... FPGA board IS educational.

Are there any regulations - additional taxes and formalities - on shipments from out of state?

I think the Bilble says something about leaders being appointed by God........ :-)

The only issues are "sales" taxes, that vary slightly from state-to-state.

...Jim Thompson

Except that California claims to have the right to collect sale taxes for other states. Whether they actually send the money to other states is a different story. I am still waiting for the court to act.

Years ago, California imposed a few hundred dollars of environmental impact fee of importing my car from Colorado. I received a refund check several years later.

Still waiting for my refund on out of state sale tax.

I tried to stay out of politic, but republican did just as much damage.

Yes. I feel so-o-o-o-o much better under the Obama regime :-( ...Jim Thompson

When you say "from the states", you mean from the US? That's a different matter. Every country has some regulations and restrictions regarding shipments from another country. Over here, state taxation people seem to enjoy treating interstae borders like international ones. My state is small enough that it may be possible to curb some of the more unreasonable practices by campaigning against them.

A few years ago Californica screwed me out of $54 in state withholding when I hadn't even set foot in Californica.

...Jim Thompson

It's not really additional duties that make it a big hassle to import things from another state in India. It's the requirement to obtain a permit and send it to the sender, even for things that have little or no resale value.

There are some.

Certain kinds of products (e.g. agricultural) are subject to inspection when arriving from out of state, in order to prevent the interstate spread of diseases and insect pests.

Some states have their own regulations on the use and sale of some chemicals (e.g. pesticides), and I believe it isn't legal to ship them into states which forbid their sale or use.

States can collect sales taxes (for which they can set the percentage) on products sold within the state. The situation is trickier for products sold by an out-of-state vendor and shipped across state lines. Currently, if the seller has no "business presence" in a state (e.g. an office or warehouse of some sort), the state has no legal authority to compelthe seller to collect and remit the state sales tax... a fact which irks many state governments (loss of tax revenue) and local store retailers (competitive disadvantage). Many states have a "use tax", equal to the sales tax rate, which is levied on any products bought from out of state... but the only practical way that states can collect this, is to ask their citizens to voluntarily disclose the amount of their out-of-state purchases and voluntarily remit the use tax (typically with their state income tax filings). Needless to say, this doesn't happen very often.

you might not have been in california, but did you buy it in a california shop shipping it from california?

-Lasse

--- In the US, in general, materials can flow freely between the states with shipments originating in any state and delivered to any state.

The means of shipment is restricted for some materials; for example, explosives cannot be transported by air, and some materials require special permits in order to be transported; for example, explosives.

There are also issues regarding sales taxes.

For example, if I buy buy something for my own use from a firm located in Texas, I'm obligated by the laws of the State of Texas to pay sales tax on it, and the firm I buy it from is legally required to collect that tax and forward it to the state, since the state doesn't trust me to do it. However, if I buy the same merchandise from a dealer in another state, that dealer isn't bound by the laws of the state of Texas and can't be forced to collect taxes for, and deliver those taxes to, a foreign government.

In the same vein, since that dealer's state has no right to levy sales taxes on a citizen of a foreign state, and the dealer isn't selling the goods to someone in his state, then the sales tax goes, happily for me, unpaid.

Bottom line is, if I buy a book called "Windows 7 Inside Out", from Barnes and Noble, here, I'll have to pay sales tax on it, but if I buy it online from amazon.com, I won't.

There is a dark side though, and that is if the firm I buy from wants a physical presence in Texas then, once they get that presence, they have to kow-tow to Texas law and charge me sales tax and send it off to the treasury, even if I ordered it online from a website in Bumfuck, Iowa.

It's all very streamlined and simple, and nothing like what you have to go through in India, but it's all designed to, as simply, cheaply, and invisibly as possible, grow the monster until it's too late.

--- JF

In California, there are no controls, no permits, no documents for buying stuff from other states. We order from Digikey in Minnesota, UPS delivers it the next day, it's done. If we buy something for consumption, we, companies or individuals, are theoretically supposed to voluntarily pay California the equivalent sales tax. If we buy "for resale", like parts to build into products, there is no sales tax due.

Individuals seldom pay the out-of-state sales tax, unless it's for something like a car that has to be registered with the state. Companies are occasionally audited by the state for sales tax compliance (we have been a couple of times... it's no big deal) so we comply.

John

What does that have to do with withholding taxes, on his income?

Assuming you also mean any country, in AU we pay 10% GST on most goods and services. To avoid that tax one needs to be running a business and then claim incoming goods' GST and also charge GST on what you sell.

Service businesses add 10% and pay it to the govt. Turns every little business into tax collector, unless they have small turnover and are considered 'hobby' level.

Seems simple enough, buts apparently it's a lot of paperwork for small business. I'm holding off joining that game until I'm sure I want to play.

Just means I cannot sell goods without passing on the GST I paid when buying parts. We don't have interstate trading restrictions as far as I know.

Grant.

Hmm, when I (in AU) ordered direct from US company they fulfilled the order from Asian warehouse, so it wasn't direct US to AU transaction.

A private sale via ebay from US to AU didn't trigger any extra tax, though item was only about US$40. Other things I buy from USA were software, which I imagine is credit card transaction not even visible to the tax man (below some mandatory reporting value, $10k or so)?

Grant.

Or making friends with somebody on other side of the border? Or, is that too close to being a smuggler?

Grant.

For ordinary stuff, but maybe not cigs and booze..

Tennnessee law:

"Possessing more than 20 packs (or two cartons) of cigarettes not bearing Tennessee revenue stamps is a misdemeanor. Such products and any vehicle(s) used to transport them are subject to seizure. Possession of more than 25 cartons of untaxed cigarettes is a Class E felony."

You could lose your car for a couple cartons of cheap smokes.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Yet another reason not to smoke.

John