“This year, for the first time, taxpayers are being asked how much they owe in so-called “use taxes” on the Illinois 1040 tax form. “
Funny, we don’t have that form here in Texas. Ooops, I forgot, we also don’t have a state sales tax.
Make that INCOME TAX, here in Texas.
(but even our sales tax is less than 5% on big-ticket items, like cars)
We’ve had use taxes in California for years.
Further, you do have the use tax. You are required by law to pay tax on purchases when the business does not collect the sales tax at the point of purchase.
That includes all internet sales. Texas calls this the "Occasional Use Tax". BTW, Your sales tax is 6.25%, plus you have local sales taxes.
And the "occasional use tax" isn't just for out-of-state purchases. If you live in part of Texas with a higher local sales tax, and buy something from another part of the state and they only collect the state sales tax, you are required to file the occasional use tax form to make up the difference. Texas Occasional Use Tax:
Furthermore, assume you live in Houston and buy an item for $200 from a seller in a part of Texas with no local taxes. The seller only charges state sales tax of $12.50, or 6.25 percent. Since the correct tax rate in Houston is 8.25 percent, you owe additional use tax of $4.00.Your state is one of the middle ones for filing annoyance -- you have to file only once a year, BUT it is supposed to be filed by January 20 of the following year. Virginia lets us wait until May 1st, when our income tax is due.
You probably didn't know that you have been breaking the law for all these years. But now that you know, I'm sure you'll do the right thing, as annoying as it is. Then you'll want to make sure everybody else does as well, because there's nothing as bad as paying your fair share of taxes knowing that other people are cheating and not paying.
Most states, including Texas, do require online shoppers to pay Use Taxes.