| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front Economy |
| Massachusetts Attempts to Tax Retail sales in NH |
| 2009-02-03 |
| Massachusetts has ordered a tire chain to charge Bay State residents a 5 percent sales tax on their purchases in New Hampshire in an unprecedented move that could have huge implications for consumers and other merchants. Town Fair Tire Centers, which is based in Connecticut but has six shops in New Hampshire and 25 in Massachusetts, is fighting back with a lawsuit now before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that accuses the state of violating the US commerce clause. If Massachusetts prevails in the case, which is likely to be heard next month, it could drive up costs for consumers and retailers such as Best Buy and Sears that sell expensive home appliances and other goods in New Hampshire, which doesn't have a state sales tax. It also could mean millions of dollars in new tax revenue for the Commonwealth as it faces a $1.1 billion budget deficit, according to tax analysts. "This is a first-of-its-kind case," said Fred Nicely, general counsel of the Council on State Taxation, a nonprofit trade association of multistate corporations engaged in interstate and international business. "There's huge ramifications to the entire retail community." |
| Posted by:mhw |
| #9 OTOH, on CNN AM, US$40.0BILYUHN-AND-THENSOME DEFICIT-RIDDEN CALIFORNIA is NO LONGER NOT JUST "CALIFORNIA" OR THE "[US]STATE OF CALIFORNIA", BUT IS NOW "THE CAL-ZONE/CALIFORNIA ZONE", as in OWG-NWO SOVEREIGN ZONE = EURO-ZONE! OTHER WEST COAST US STATES? DARE BLAGO, ILLINOIS, + DETROIT = MICHIGAN [OWG "Great Lakes" FTZ-SEZ-EEZ]??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-02-03 22:19 |
| #8 It's not a first-of-its-kind case, it's a purely unconstitutional imposition of costs on one state by another. It'll never survive the first federal court challenge. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2009-02-03 17:35 |
| #7 Catch me if you can, bitches... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-02-03 15:44 |
| #6 Are you a voter or a serf? Both. The voters defeated MA income tax repeal by 2 to 1 last fall. Voters reject income tax repeal Proponents were outspent 10:1 by people who like taxes. And, yes, MA also has a line on the state income tax form requiring you to remit MA sales tax on your out of state purchases for which you paid no tax. |
| Posted by: KBK 2009-02-03 15:36 |
| #5 Taxachusetts voters need to be reminded of this at the next election. Are you a voter or a serf? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-02-03 13:47 |
| #4 These aren't NH businesses, they are Mass businesses with 25 stores in Mass. They can keep the 25 store in Mass and pay the tax or they can close them. The next step will be to tax internet purchases. And that is where this is really headed. And Bambi will support it. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-02-03 13:42 |
| #3 Taxatusetts: "Hey those are our serfs to extort from". |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles the flatulent 2009-02-03 13:24 |
| #2 Louisiana has taxed purchases made out of state for years - but the burden of reporting and paying is on the Louisiana resident, as a line on the income tax form. Needless to say, compliance is not perfect. I have trouble seeing how Taxachusetts has jurisdiction to require NH merchants to do anything. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-02-03 13:02 |
| #1 Ha ha ha. Oh boy is this good. NY threatened to do something like that years ago and sent agents to mark down NY license plates that were shopping in Elizabeth, NJ. Didn't last long. |
| Posted by: flushing_kenny 2009-02-03 12:12 |