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 The Supreme Court has said that this thinking is now “out of date” and that “the internet era has changed everything and that this logic no longer applies.”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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