Taxes???

[purefilm]

I am working on my business plan and I am trying to determine how much money I will have to spend. I can not find any information on shipping and taxes. What are the taxes on the camera and equipment. Also will there be a shipping cost?

 

[Dan Blanchett]

Tax depends on where you live. If you are in California and present a tax exemption certificate (6378) for production use then it's 3%.

 

[Victor Noir]

And if one is shipping the camera to, say, Arkansas.... there are no taxes, correct?

 

[BASSAM MSSALATIE]

And if one is shipping the camera to, say, Arkansas.... there are no taxes, correct?

what about shipping to NY.??:angry2:

 

[Bill Goehring]

When purchases are made in one state and shipped to another, the merchant is usually not responsible for collecting the sales tax, since the tax is applied to the person making the purchase by the state government where they reside.

When a purchase and delivery is made within one state, the merchant usually collects the sales tax for the customer and pays it to the state, which distributes it to state and municipal governments, UNLESS the purchaser has a sales tax license that allows them to forego paying the sales tax before adding value to the purchase or passing on the purchase to another licensed customer who pays the tax after passing the purchase on to the final customer; otherwise, the tax would be collected twice and result in double taxation of the original purchase, and it would require citizens to account for all of their purchases and pay the state themselves, which would be impractical and difficult to enforce.

Some merchants, such as Apple, collect the sales tax, even if the product is delivered to an out-of-state customer. I assume that, in this example, Apple passes the collected sales tax on to the state government of the state where the customer resides.

HOWEVER, some states (most? all?) levy a USE tax to their citizens who make purchases over state lines for which they do not pay sales tax and which are delivered to their in-state residence or business. Citizens are expected to report these purchases themselves to their state governments absent interstate cooperative compacts that require out-of-state vendors to report the sales to the state governments of the purchasers. I believe the states that are party to these compacts are usually contiguous.

The problem is that many, if not most, customers do not report these purchases to their state governments, if they know that the interstate purchases will not be reported to their home state governments. The result is that state and local governments are losing millions (upon millions) of dollars annually in taxes that support state and local services for their citizens. But these interstate purchases keep the wheels of businesses turning, so the political will to challenge these purchases and lack of payment of taxes is, for the most part, still relatively unchallenged. As interstate internet commerce accelerates into the future and schools go unfunded and roads unbuilt, this is likely change.

Let your conscience (and your knowledge of interstate taxation compacts) be your guide. You might want to look for information on your state department of revenue's website.

These are general consumer guidelines, and I am not an accountant or a tax lawyer. Tax laws may vary by state and municipality. Special provisions, such as media production sales tax exemptions in one state and agricultural production equipment exemptions in others may supersede general laws intended for consumers or unprotected industries but still require reporting the purchases.

Not sure how clear this is, but I hope it helps.

 

[Greg M]

bottom line, ask an accountant not a forum. Most states collect tax on equipment sales, it is your duty to report and pay them if they are owed in your state. Every state and county has different rates but these are usually in the 3%-9% range

 

[Ralph Wong]

Actually, I would love to ask an accountant about something similar. I think it is important to get a good accountant when starting a business. The problem is finding a good accountant. Anybody know anyone in the Los Angeles area?