<p>Many states tax boards still want us to declare our taxes spent out of state.</p>
<p>Does your state do the same?</p>
<p>MomofWildChild, I don’t know what state you live in, but Illinois has a use tax (see post #250). As an Illinois resident, I am curious now about how many expensive items here go untaxed and how often Illinois residents are actually paying this use tax.</p>
<p>Not jumping in about watches because they are not my thing (though H has a really neat MODI that the kids gave him for his 60th). I do have a private jeweler I like whose store is 1200 miles away. My RT flight there is less expensive than the tax I would pay if I didn’t have him ship it to me.</p>
<p>When a car is taxed every time it is sold, states get that tax every time. Is nothing wrong with that?</p>
<p>Not suggesting interstate commerce is illegal, just that many states are finding ways to track purchases so as to collect sales tax. Maybe this won’t be an issue for you.</p>
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<p>Beats me! Seems like a clever thing to do, especially if you or your relatives travel back and forth frequently and can bring the items without much delay and they aren’t time-sensitive. I think the young folks call this a life hack.</p>
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<p>Well, I assure you that if the state of IL indicates that I need to pay X taxes or be in violation of the law, I will pay those taxes.</p>
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<p>Agreed if the buyer isn’t an expert on the possible nuances of an item to differentiate between a real and a fake. If there’s a good warranty and it’s only issued through authorized dealers, that’s another factor against CL or otherwise buying used.</p>
<p>However, if one enjoys haggling, knows enough to authenticate, verify condition & value, and the warranty is bupkis(i.e. Some 1 year limited guitar warranties), it can be worth it for those folks to try CL for high-end items.</p>
<p>Since people here seem to dislike it when I make value judgments, let me put on my neutral advisor hat here. </p>
<p>Forty-five states impose a “use tax” that is intended to ensure that folks who purchase goods from out-of-state bear the same rate of consumption tax (which is all a sales tax amounts to) as those who make purchases in state. In practice, use tax is seldom collected, especially voluntarily, and many folks who consider themselves otherwise law-abiding do not pay it. </p>
<p>In recent years, cash-strapped state revenue agencies have focused more enforcement resources on sales and use tax avoidance. In particular, I recall New York taking action against a number of bold faced names who had empty boxes shipped from jewelers and art dealers to their weekend homes in an effort to avoid high NY state and city sales taxes. (My memory is hazy, but I believe this was also one of the charges against Leona Helmsley back in the day.) </p>
<p>On a related note, there is legislation pending in Congress that will greatly expand the ability of states to collect sales tax from online purchases, regardless of whether the seller has physical nexus in the state. As long as state budgets remain tight, one should expect the direction and pace of this enforcement activity to increase. </p>
<p>Y’all are adults, and I’m neither a nanny nor your tax advisor, but there are laws about this in most states, and there is a non-zero chance that a state revenue agency would choose to enforce them if the revenue to be gained from so doing makes the effort worthwhile. When states do pinch people for this, they tend to do so in a way that maximizes publicity (and embarrassment) for those caught.</p>
<p><a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?;
<p>Thanks for your concern, SomeOldGuy. I had not heard of the practice of shipping empty boxes.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the policy is, but I seem to recall after doing my taxes for CA this year, they have a slightly different policy on ‘use’ tax. For them, the values are binned, and you pay a flat rate depending on which bin your purchase falls in. I think they didn’t require it below $50-$100, and it was something like $15 for any purchase less than $1k (numbers might be a little off). Either way, it was almost always better than the 9.25% I pay in my county.</p>
<p>I actually wonder what the policy is for purchases made outside of your home’s county, but within your state. For example, we purchased our large-screen TV a county over after visiting a relative for dinner. Only after the purchase we realized we saved a whole $10 by picking it up at that branch of the store instead of our closest.</p>
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<p>$10 is $10 that I’d rather have than not have. I live in a metro area where all the different counties / cities have different sales tax rates. Why wouldn’t I pay attention to this if I were purchasing something large such as a large-screen TV? (which I’ve never purchased, btw) There’s no law that says I couldn’t drive to another county 5 mins away and make the purchase. I can’t believe my state is going to try to suss out whether I actually went to the Best Buy that is nearest my house.</p>
<p>Some people register their car at their office rather than their home address when they purchase it if the tax in that county is lower than the tax in their county of residence.</p>
<p>As for international purchases, don’t people get the VAT tax (if applied) refunded but have to pay the tax when they fill out the declarations form (if they bring it when they travel). I don’t purchase on ebay, but I believe there is some port tax assessed for overseas purchases coming to the US.</p>
<p>I mentioned the empty box thing in post 246, PG.</p>
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<p>It depends on the specific item and/or the value of the overseas purchases.</p>
<p>An $11 purchase with free international shipping I made from an overseas supplier for a proprietary computer part wasn’t assessed for port/customs taxes…probably because the item was too low in value.</p>
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<p><a href=“https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2012/12_540a_540ins.pdf[/url]”>Page Not Found | FTB.ca.gov; (page 14 for line 95) describes how you can calculate California use tax. You can either calculate the use tax based on actual purchases, or the use tax based on actual purchases over $1,000 plus an estimated amount for smaller purchases.</p>
<p>Anyone buying an expensive watch from Craigslist better know what they’re doing. Craigslist is like the wild-west and you can get skinned real quick. There are a lot of hucksters and crooks using Craigslist to rip people off. Too, when doing the exchange meet in a safe public place and take some big people with you.</p>
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<p>I haven’t had issues personally beyond a few folks wasting my time by not showing up to pick up free items from me at a nearby designated public meeting place as promised.</p>
<p>Then again, I do agree with not going the CL/ebay route if one’s not familiar enough with a high ticket item to verify the authenticity of the item concerned or if one can get a great warranty if one buys new from an authorized dealer.</p>
<p>Heard on the news recently that someone was arrested for selling stolen cars. Not sure if it was on a used car lot or on Craigslist or what. But the naive purchasers were told they’d get the registration in the mail. Not. They all had their cars repossessed.</p>
<p>If I was in the shoes of PG, I would purchase two nice but very affordable watches immediately, but share that the present was meant to include something much more expensive. Deposit what was MEANT to be in a savings account, and tell the twins THEY can decide if they like wearing an expensive watch all the time. It would be their choice to use the cash or the item.</p>
<p>My experience is that my dad has tried to make me adopt his Piaget watch for the past six years. It has been at home for all this time, after sitting in his drawer UNUSED for at least 15 years - except for the scheduled maintenance. </p>
<p>Frankly speaking, I will NEVER take it as I do NOT want to have to worry about it in terms of wearing or storing it safely. It would be a hassle. I am already preoccupied enough with my Tag Hauer that I often switch it for a really inexpensive watch, especially when traveling abroad. </p>
<p>I understand that some people love to buy and WEAR expensive items, but I have to wonder how recent college graduates feel about in 2013. Otoh, like WildChild, I did spend a small fortune on an expensive bike. The difference is that I use it daily.</p>
<p>While there was a time I adored watches, they were of a substantially lower price point than Pizzagirl is referring to. I collected vintage but comparatively inexpensive ones back when ebay first started. Now they are in a box collecting dust, and probably will not work, since good watches are meant to be worn and wound regularly. </p>
<p>That said, I cannot stand wearing watches, now. Whether a $50 Timex, or a multiple thousands of dollars watch. </p>
<p>One thing I would want to know is if the daughters actually enjoy wearing a timepiece on their wrist.</p>
<p>For the record, I have a son and a daughter, not two daughters. My kids have both indicated they are interested in a watch (with plenty of room for the “no, thanks, mom.”) Carry on :-)</p>
<p>I have other savings vessels for my kids’ long-term accounts – this isn’t an either / or.</p>
<p>xiggi - Tag Heuer is one of the brands we’re considering – it’s in the same ballpark price-wise. And of course traveling abroad means cheap watch!</p>
<p>As a result of this thread, I’ve unearthed my B&M watch which I haven’t worn in a year. It’s a little on the dressy side, but yk something? Better I use it than it sit in a drawer. Nice stuff is meant to be used. On my wrist it goes! Goodbye Fossil!</p>