Edwards/Louisiana going after 2017 internet sales tax

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Louisiana sucks

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terrible leadership

It’s a small price to pay to have the security of knowing that my honor code Guvnah hasn’t been busted banging a hooker.

Geez! Louisiana is so frickin bass ackwards. The rest of the country is celebrating tax reform and a booming economy, and LA is still looking for ways to tax tax tax tax tax..

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While it's always been the law, it has also always been 'understood' that collection of sales/use taxes was the responsibility of the seller

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That's the way I understood it as well. This is very sleazy indeed.

They're not collecting the tax, they're just advising me that Louisiana has asked for and been sent the info. It's up to me to pay Louisiana.

"Due to recent changes in Louisiana state tax law, we are required to provide this notice to our customers.

Louisiana Use Tax may apply to purchases made at Overstock in 2017. Our records show your Overstock purchases totaling $126.64 were shipped to a Louisiana address in 2017. These purchases may need to be reported if you file a Louisiana state income tax return this year, and you may need to pay tax on these items if you haven't already. If the total purchases referenced above are negative, then our records indicate that your total refunds exceeded your total purchases in 2017. If you have any questions, please contact the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

Louisiana law requires that we also provide the Louisiana Department of Revenue with the total amount of your purchases from us. We will not provide any details of what your purchases were or include any description of the type of items that you purchased. The detailed notice below is only provided to you."

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While it's always been the law, it has also always been 'understood' that collection of sales/use taxes was the responsibility of the seller and if seller didn't collect, the state would not come after the buyer. Very sleazy move to retroactively begin enforcing a law that has always been ignored.

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You are wrong here. This isn't the first time Louisiana has come after the buyer. It's just the first time they are doing so in this manner.

Back in the late 90s or early 2000s, the state was able to convince Thompson Cigar, a mail order cigar company, to turn over their customer list. The state then matched up the customer list with state returns. If you, as a customer, reported anything on the use tax line, they left you alone. If not, they audited you.

What I don't understand, is why does a business that is not in Louisiana have to follow Louisiana law? What teeth does the state have to go after a company that doesn't report the sales?

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While it's always been the law, it has also always been 'understood' that collection of sales/use taxes was the responsibility of the seller and if seller didn't collect, the state would not come after the buyer. Very sleazy move to retroactively begin enforcing a law that has always been ignored.


You are wrong here

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I'm not wrong. I didn't say they had never done it, I said it was 'understood' they would not go after the buyer. They may have done it VERY infrequently, but virtually no one knew it was being done or that they would be pursued.

It may have been "understood" that the state wasn't going to come after the buyer strictly from a cost/benefit analysis. Prior to the internet, the state didn't feel like it was losing out on much revenue. It wasn't worth the expense to try to cast a large net for a few small fish. Now there are a lot more fish, and the state has a nice shiny "fish finder" to help them.

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What I don't understand, is why does a business that is not in Louisiana have to follow Louisiana law? What teeth does the state have to go after a company that doesn't report the sales?

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I think there is a recent case that provides some teeth. Out of Colorado, maybe?

Tell em too frick off... You think Louisiana would have the resources to pursue sales tax from online purchases?