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>But Sen. Welch also noted that brick-and-mortar shops are also being used as display cases for products later bought online. "When a consumer can walk into a s
by rawsyntax 15y ago
>But Sen. Welch also noted that brick-and-mortar shops are also being used as display cases for products later bought online. "When a consumer can walk into a store, try out a product and then go home and buy it online without paying sales tax, Main Street businesses and downtowns lose," he said in a statement.
In my experience, sales tax does not account for the price difference, in most stuff I buy. What does account for it is the insane markup. Try buying an HDMI cable at bestbuy, then compare to the $1.50 at monoprice.com
- Yhippa 15y agoI think that's true for commodity items like cables and video games but I can see what the Senator is saying if people come into a store to check out a TV or a laptop then go home and buy it online. My guess is that people are more hesitant to purchase an important or big-ticket item unless they've seen it and played with it in person.
- qeorge 15y agoI bought a Nexus S at the shop across the street from me. The price was the same as I could find online, but I paid an extra $40 in sales tax (NC). I don't mind paying sales tax (I do enjoy having police, firemen, and teachers) but let's be honest - $40 is enough for someone to think twice.
- clarkevans 15y agoLegally, others still must pay the $40. It's just that they get to pay it at the end of the year as part of their the "USE TAX" line item in their state taxes. They don't avoid the expense: they are deferring (er, perhaps, ignoring? the law).
- naner 15y agoIt is not always pure mark-up. Small businesses don't have the volume to be able to sell things at the low prices large online retailers like Amazon do.