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Get ready to pay more for your gear online after new Supreme Court decision

by 6 Comments

The US Supreme Court has ruled that online retailers will have to collect sales taxes from now on. For photographers and videographers, this means you no longer will be able to buy cheaper, tax-free gear from online retailers like B&H or Adorama.

According to NBC News, the ruling will affect what you pay online, and retailers can now charge you sales taxes, and in many cases must charge you sales taxes. The old law stated that the state couldn’t require a company to charge sales taxes unless it had a physical presence in the US. The Supreme Court has said that this thinking is now “out of date” and that “the internet era has changed everything and that this logic no longer applies.”

After this decision, many online retailers will have to charge sales taxes. As NBC News reports, many already do, like Amazon.com. However, smaller businesses that sell items through eBay may have to start charging sales taxes as well. Also, Adorama and B&H will have to start charging too, which means that the gear prices are about to get higher.

Now, to be fair, you should be paying use tax every year even if you don’t pay it when making an online purchase. And if you do pay it regularly, I suppose this won’t affect the amount of money you spend on gear. But if buy gear online and pocket the money you’d spend on tax… I guess it will affect you more.

[via Photo Rumors]

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  • Tj Ó Seamállaigh

    I’ve been thinking for long time now to stop ordering from US and check other opportunities in Asia and maybe in Europe. I think it is about time.

    • Hahaha if there is something you don’t want to do it’s order from Europe We have BOTH high taxation AND high price

      • Mariosch

        If I’m not mistaken, European (EU) online stores that ship goods to outside the EU do not have to collect sales tax / VAT from the customer – at least if the customer is living outside the EU as well. The customer would have to take care himself to pay his due sales tax or VAT according to the laws valid for him, I think.
        Other non-EU European countries might have different rules, of course.

        In some cases those taxes also might be collected by the customs office when importing your purchase. That’s usually the case if I order something from outside the EU and have it shipped to Germany – the customs office will bill me with my due VAT than.
        If US customs has a similar practice, ordering from Europe or Asia might not necessarily be cheaper than ordering in the US and paying sales taxes…

  • Andy Farmer

    This is fair for local retail which has enough problems competing against the big internet houses without having a sales tax differential added in. It might be tough for some small Etsy type businesses, but I see an opportunity for the likes of Amazon and eBay to assist in the calculation and collection of sales taxes, for a fee I am sure.

  • What is wrong with paying taxes?

  • Paying tax is the right thing to do. Toilet paper is tax free in NYC expensive optics you pay the Tax.

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