Red River Paper sales tax

[sunnyherman]

I was about to order paper from Red River Paper (RRP) since they are the only supplier that has 17" x 25" paper but canceled the order as they have a BIZARRE method of sales tax computation.

I live in WA state and individual counties in WA have various rates of sales tax. The state sales tax is 6.25% and each county can add on additional percentages up to a max. The sales tax rate in the county I live in is 7.7% - 0.077%. When I went to check out from Red River I was surprised to see they were charging me 10.32%, which is higher than virtually ANY sales tax charged in the entire state. That added an additional $5.00 plus to my purchase price. I contacted Red River by phone and was told they compute sales tax based on the zip code for delivery. I then received an email with the following statements -

"Thank you for your inquiry and I apologize for the confusion. Unfortunately, we do not yet have access to zip code level tax rates.  States allow small companies like us to charge an average rate based on all tax districts in the state. The rate could be slightly higher or lower than you pay locally.

Please note this method is allowed by all 50 legislatures of the 50 United States. We are working towards zip code level taxation and will announce any changes at the appropriate time."

I did contact the Washington State Department of Revenue and the tax specialist I spoke with said Washington state is a "destination" state and therefore all sales tax must be calculated for the specific zip code of the address shipped to, NOT an average for the state. (I would also note that the "average" rate they charged is MORE than the average for the state of Washington.)

I also mentioned to the state tax specialist that RRP states on their website that this "averaging" is allowed by ALL 50 legislatures and the Washington tax specialist said "NOT IN WASHINGTON".

I then received a follow-up email from RRP essentially stating that it would be too expensive to calculate sales tax rates for each individual entity so in contradiction to their statement on their web page they really aren't working toward zip code level taxation.

[mearussi]

I'm glad I live in Oregon.

[Randy Carone]

What percent of the bill was the $5? Probably wouldn't be the reason I didn't buy from Red River. Don't sweat the small stuff.

[dgberg]

Might be different in Washington but in Pennsylvania if you are reselling you need a Pa. Sales tax License Number from the Dept of Revenue.
You then are responsible to collect sales tax to pay the State but you pay no taxes when purchasing materials for resale.
If this is for yourself and not for resale then you have to pay the going rate.

[wickedweather]

I was about to order paper from Red River Paper (RRP) since they are the only supplier that has 17" x 25" paper but canceled the order as they have a BIZARRE method of sales tax computation.

I live in WA state and individual counties in WA have various rates of sales tax. The state sales tax is 6.25% and each county can add on additional percentages up to a max. The sales tax rate in the county I live in is 7.7% - 0.077%. When I went to check out from Red River I was surprised to see they were charging me 10.32%, which is higher than virtually ANY sales tax charged in the entire state. That added an additional $5.00 plus to my purchase price. I contacted Red River by phone and was told they compute sales tax based on the zip code for delivery. I then received an email with the following statements -

"Thank you for your inquiry and I apologize for the confusion. Unfortunately, we do not yet have access to zip code level tax rates.  States allow small companies like us to charge an average rate based on all tax districts in the state. The rate could be slightly higher or lower than you pay locally.

Please note this method is allowed by all 50 legislatures of the 50 United States. We are working towards zip code level taxation and will announce any changes at the appropriate time."

I did contact the Washington State Department of Revenue and the tax specialist I spoke with said Washington state is a "destination" state and therefore all sales tax must be calculated for the specific zip code of the address shipped to, NOT an average for the state. (I would also note that the "average" rate they charged is MORE than the average for the state of Washington.)

I also mentioned to the state tax specialist that RRP states on their website that this "averaging" is allowed by ALL 50 legislatures and the Washington tax specialist said "NOT IN WASHINGTON".

I then received a follow-up email from RRP essentially stating that it would be too expensive to calculate sales tax rates for each individual entity so in contradiction to their statement on their web page they really aren't working toward zip code level taxation.

Having done business in and out of Washington State and in different counties (Benton, Franklin, and Chelan), I can tell you that they don't care how it's calculated as long as they receive it. I should be careful how I phrase that. They want you to be kind of close to what it should be. I know this because there have been years where I have overpaid and years where I have underpaid (mostly due to the never ending changes that the counties impose) and we never hear anything from the State. My guess is the State of Washington is happy when Red River sends them a check and doesn't fuss around with the details.

And FWIW the Palo Duro Soft Gloss Rag is worth the extra 3-4% you end up paying 

[headmj]

 :-\If this was phone suppor that person may KNOW less about it than you do.  The states have made sales tax one of the worst compliance problems a small business can have.