As Internet commerce continues to flourish, California tax officials have a piece of advice: Save your online sales receipts. You’ll need them to report your “use tax,” the money that the state collects on taxable purchases made from out-of-state sellers reports the Sacramento Bee.
The California State Board of Equalization wants to tighten up use-tax collections, which totaled just $5.5 million. Officials estimate that another $1 billion went uncollected.
“It’s the law and it’s been the law since 1935,” said board spokeswoman Anita Gore.
The use tax would apply, for example, to a toy ordered via the Web, over the phone or by mail from an out-of-state vendor and shipped to California. While a toy store here would add sales tax to an over-the-counter purchase, the outside supplier would not.
Read it here: State says Online Buyers Owe Tax