Interstate sales tax?

[tbt10f]

What is the name of your state? Utah

I am going to college soon, and have recently ordered my books online from the publisher, Thomson Learning. After I had ordered, I noticed that they had charged me sales tax, although they are based in Kentucky and that is where the books were shipped from.

So I decided to call them and ask why the tax was taken, and they said it was because they have representatives in every state and so they must collect taxes for that state. I ordered directly from them, and do not even know who this rep is. The taxes collected were 6.25%, which is what Utah sales tax is.

My question is: Are they legally required to do this, and if not, how should I go about arguing my case to them? I have ordered many products through catalogs, and now the internet, and have only been charged sales tax if the company shipped the products from my home state.

[anteater]

My question is: Are they legally required to do this, and if not, how should I go about arguing my case to them?

You do not have a case, so save the argument.

The short version of the rest of the story**************

How each state defines what is considered a "presence" in the state, and therefore, a legal obligation for a company to collect sales tax on sales into that state, is a bit different. If a company does not meet a state's "presence test," it is not legally obligated to collect that state's sales tax. However, even if a company does meet the "presence test", it may choose to voluntarily collect sales tax on sales into that state.

The simple fact is that the tax is owed to the state of Utah. If the company does not charge and collect the sales tax, then you owe the state of Utah a use tax.

That other companies have not charged you sales tax is not relevant. You still owe the state of Utah use tax. That Utah is not trying to collect the use tax from you is merely a matter of it not being worth it for the state of Utah to track you down and collect.