DarthTHC Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Eh, ok this post has gone off topic. Original intent was to express surprise at the sudden application of sales tax to this purchase, as last week there was none. And if someone thinks we shouldn't be annoyed by new taxes or tax hikes, then you're probably not paying taxes at all. Again, though, if you're annoyed with a new tax you have to take it up with the officials you (the broad "you") elected, not EA. Sure, maybe EA could have warned us about the change, but they're certainly going to comply with all national, regional, and local laws, right? I won't buy Cartel Coins, but I do know that every month's subscription I've paid to this game has not been taxed. I guess I'll check next month's. If I remember. I'm pretty sure I won't notice 6% of $15... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARIZONAMAN Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Again, though, if you're annoyed with a new tax you have to take it up with the officials you (the broad "you") elected, not EA. Sure, maybe EA could have warned us about the change, but they're certainly going to comply with all national, regional, and local laws, right? Sigh, not blaming EA for tax policy. But the posts about paying taxes not being a big deal really bother me. Grew up poor, got a good education thanks to parents, and now I'm nickled and dimed to death and told it shouldn't bother me. It gets old. Again, original post was to express surprise at the change, EA was not blamed although a heads up on the change coming would have been nice since they knew it was coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dainter Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Right now states are all redefining what services fall under the sales tax umbrella so to speak. I wouldn't be shocked if CA or AZ or any state that Bioware/EA has a presence in changed what goods and/or services require sales tax to be added to the purchase. I would be surprised though if someone from Ohio, like me, bought the coins and got charged CA sales tax. The sales tax should be paid to where the good/service is used. For me this is Ohio. For example if I buy something from Best Buy online they charge me Ohio sales tax because that is where I live and will most likely be utilizing whatever I bought. Although an interesting argument could be made that the cartel coins are really used whereever the server is physically located.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthTHC Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 States seem to require that if an online seller has a physical, retail presence within the buyer's state, then the online retailer must process state sales tax. I wonder if some states are now requiring online retailers to charge sales tax regardless of physical presence. This would not surprise me. With so many purchases being made online now - much to the detriment of brick & mortar retailers like Best Buy - the states must be experiencing a similar decline in sales tax revenues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dainter Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 States seem to require that if an online seller has a physical, retail presence within the buyer's state, then the online retailer must process state sales tax. I wonder if some states are now requiring online retailers to charge sales tax regardless of physical presence. This would not surprise me. With so many purchases being made online now - much to the detriment of brick & mortar retailers like Best Buy - the states must be experiencing a similar decline in sales tax revenues. EA probably has a physical presence in quite a few states. Even a small office would count. I don't believe states have yet made the reach to get sales tax regardless of a physical presence. That would be tough because lots of states have use taxes. Essentially use taxes are just sales taxes for stuff you buy out of state. So if state A tried to change its sales tax law to include places where it has no physcial presence, for instance state B, then state A would possibly be taking use tax income away from state B. State B would not be happy. This generally only plays out in the case of buying a car. Most people don't report their use tax to states as it is mostly a self reported tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSchmo Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Google 'Amazon Tax' and you'll find out why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackavaar Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Still no tax here in Nevada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avalanchehawk Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Living in Texas, I've always paid 8.25% sales tax on cartel coin purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthTHC Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 EA probably has a physical presence in quite a few states. Even a small office would count. I don't believe states have yet made the reach to get sales tax regardless of a physical presence. That would be tough because lots of states have use taxes. Essentially use taxes are just sales taxes for stuff you buy out of state. So if state A tried to change its sales tax law to include places where it has no physcial presence, for instance state B, then state A would possibly be taking use tax income away from state B. State B would not be happy. This generally only plays out in the case of buying a car. Most people don't report their use tax to states as it is mostly a self reported tax. Offices counting might depend on the state. In my state, it must be a retail presence. For example, Google currently has office space and staff here but no retail outlets, and they do not collect state sales tax. Now when their retail stores come in... *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dainter Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Offices counting might depend on the state. In my state, it must be a retail presence. For example, Google currently has office space and staff here but no retail outlets, and they do not collect state sales tax. Now when their retail stores come in... *sigh* a fair point. it gets murky when you are talking about selling virtual currency. an office to a cash strapped state is probably considered a retail presence for virtual currency. as an aside, and probably to your point, in a lot of states now services are taxed under the sales tax umbrella, so the office counts there. Edited February 20, 2013 by Dainter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacose Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) I've been charged tax by BW from the get-go. Figured it was because I also live in Texas where the game's headquartered. Normally there isn't a tax charged to my credit card when making online purchases out of state, but sometimes an out of state company charges my credit card for taxes anyways. Still have never been able to figure out the random nature of such? Edited February 22, 2013 by Belacose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUXs Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Curious... If they charge sales tax on the purchase of Cartel Coins, shouldn't we be required to report the 500 free monthly Cartel Coins as "income"? We're not currently being taxed on the coins we receive for free, nor am I paying any taxes through my non-taxed monthly subscription... Can anyone explain why one is taxable and one isn't? I don't get it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KamikazeNY Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 So what about the last 3 months of cartel purchases then ? BW now owes the govt a few billion in unpaid state taxes cause they wern't charging us ? cause they sure as hell aren't coming back to me for the money lol. If you live in a state with a sales tax, typically you are required to declare any out of state purchases (including online) on your annual state tax return and pay the appropriate sales tax at that time if the retailer wasn't required to collect them on behalf of the state at the time of sale. So actually if your state has a sales tax, they ARE coming back to you for the money, at least in the form of a question on your state tax return. Most people don't report their untaxed purchases and the states have no real way to enforce that they do so they're changing laws to require more retailers to collect it at the time of sale. tl;dr: EA/Bioware is not liable for unpaid sales tax; you are (if your state collects sales tax, most do) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajorWoodrow Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 unfortunately I know way more about state sales taxes than any sane person would like to. The reason you are sometimes charged and sometimes not charged local taxes on out of state transactions is a concept called nexus, if a certain company has done something, to create nexus in a particular state, they must collect sales taxes. Nexus laws vary from state to state, sometimes just sending a sales or repair tech to a state for one day will create nexus, other states are more lax. Since states have been making cash grabs through audits and putting the burden of proof on the corporations alot of large corporations have just taken the stance of f'it if we sell there we collect there regardless of nexus. Eliminates the need to keep track of 35+ states tricky laws. Alot of smaller companies either are unaware of nexus, not created it or are playing the audit lottery. Sales tax nexus in a nutshell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darevsool Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Living in Texas, I've always paid 8.25% sales tax on cartel coin purchases. Bioware/EA has offices in Texas (Austin I believe) so, yes, you're stuck paying taxes on purchases from them. My understanding is that any state (in the U.S.A. anyway) that has Bioware/EA building will legaly be required to charge sales tax. This goes back to the "old" days of ordering from mail order catalogs. If you live outside of the state that you're buying the merchandise from you don't have to pay STATE sales tax. That's how it's always been. Several years ago states started taxing for online purchasing (not the same thing as sales) but you had to report your own online purchasing to the state government at tax time...voluntarily. While Amazon and the other online retailers are growing, and the various state governments are losing out on SALES tax to these online purchases and the state governments have been trying to figure out a way to get in on the action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darevsool Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 unfortunately I know way more about state sales taxes than any sane person would like to. The reason you are sometimes charged and sometimes not charged local taxes on out of state transactions is a concept called nexus, if a certain company has done something, to create nexus in a particular state, they must collect sales taxes. Nexus laws vary from state to state, sometimes just sending a sales or repair tech to a state for one day will create nexus, other states are more lax. Since states have been making cash grabs through audits and putting the burden of proof on the corporations alot of large corporations have just taken the stance of f'it if we sell there we collect there regardless of nexus. Eliminates the need to keep track of 35+ states tricky laws. Alot of smaller companies either are unaware of nexus, not created it or are playing the audit lottery. Sales tax nexus in a nutshell... didn't know about this nexus thing. interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridiana Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 If you live in a state with a sales tax, typically you are required to declare any out of state purchases (including online) on your annual state tax return and pay the appropriate sales tax at that time if the retailer wasn't required to collect them on behalf of the state at the time of sale. So actually if your state has a sales tax, they ARE coming back to you for the money, at least in the form of a question on your state tax return. Most people don't report their untaxed purchases and the states have no real way to enforce that they do so they're changing laws to require more retailers to collect it at the time of sale. tl;dr: EA/Bioware is not liable for unpaid sales tax; you are (if your state collects sales tax, most do) The state I live in has no state taxes, we only pay federal, so there won't be anything that I file that I could claim any of it on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KamikazeNY Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 The state I live in has no state taxes, we only pay federal, so there won't be anything that I file that I could claim any of it on... Right, that's why I said "most" states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridiana Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 So essentually i'm paying taxes on an online purchase from a company that is in a state that does have a state tax so that they don't have to pay the state tax... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KamikazeNY Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 So essentually i'm paying taxes on an online purchase from a company that is in a state that does have a state tax so that they don't have to pay the state tax... You're being charged sales tax at the point of sale but you don't reside in a state with a sales tax? What state are you in? Is your billing address properly updated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridiana Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I'm also still baffeled as to why I haven't been paying this the last 3 months of cartel coin purchases and just started paying it now, did something new go into affect in TX where EA resides ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridiana Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 You're being charged sales tax at the point of sale but you don't reside in a state with a sales tax? What state are you in? Is your billing address properly updated? I'm in WA, we have sales tax but not a state tax, so I can't claim this on my state taxes cause we don't file any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KamikazeNY Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) I'm in WA, we have sales tax but not a state tax, so I can't claim this on my state taxes cause we don't file any. Gotcha. Check your local laws. You may or may not be obligated to report those purchases in some other fashion. Here in NY they collect them as part of your annual state tax return. EDIT: Found this little tidbit from your state's department of revenue: http://dor.wa.gov/content/findtaxesandrates/usetax/#howdo Edited February 20, 2013 by KamikazeNY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSchmo Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Curious... If they charge sales tax on the purchase of Cartel Coins, shouldn't we be required to report the 500 free monthly Cartel Coins as "income"? We're not currently being taxed on the coins we receive for free, nor am I paying any taxes through my non-taxed monthly subscription... Can anyone explain why one is taxable and one isn't? I don't get it... I'm not a tax law expert, but you can't be taxed on currency that is given to you from a retailer that's only spendable at that retailer. For example if I buy two boxes of diapers at Target and get a $10 gift card back. It's not technically income, more like a coupon hence why it's not taxable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshlaBoga Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 You need to blame your state for that, not BioWare. They have no choice in the matter. Solution: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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