Tax

[CUCVFAN]

The problem is not all states collect tax the same way on vehicles. Then, it might depend on if you are a resident or not. This is probably a good subject for a sticky somewhere. I can contribute some data from MD, PA, and now GA, but a thread is really difficult to follow when everything is scattered around. Any ideas? It probably should go in the GL forum for their own education...

 

[Rebelpride]

Frank- Really!?, I was planning on tax when I bought my first truck, but tax was not included and has not been till now.
The lady that I talked to at the DMV said that tax is paid at registration, and I was told that if I did pay tax in another state just to show proof and I would not have to pay again.

 

[Rebelpride]

CUCVFAN thanks for your help, I found the ST-8 form when I searched earlier but
couldn't find the proper documentation to know it was what I needed.

 

[CUCVFAN]

Rebelpride, No sweat. I'm glad to help fellow MV'ers keep their money and give GL some pain while I'm at it...

The lady that I talked to at the DMV said that tax is paid at registration, and I was told that if I did pay tax in another state just to show proof and I would not have to pay again.

Man, I'd want that in writing. Heck, even then I'd be worried/doubtful... Even if the rate is the same, most states don't have a policy of saying "OK, you paid our tax to someone else, but we'll let you slide." That has not been my experience, anyway.

Now, you might be able to file for a refund from GA based on your being a NC resident (that's basically what GL told me I could do the first time I complained), but GL should not collect the tax in the first place. The problem is that GL wants to collect tax in GA and you don't live there, and GA law says you don't need to pay it!

 

[USMilitarySurplus]

Rebelpride, the person I want to talk to about this is out for the week. I'll check back with them on Monday.

All: Here is some info that I posted on another thread - we are required by law to charge our customers sales tax. We've been audited several times so it's unnecessary to jump to the conclusion that something illegal is going on.

Local sales taxes are charged for all items unless a tax exemption form is received prior to the close of the sale. If the truck you bought was located in AZ, for example, then you would pay the local sales tax for that area, not for your home state. This is because we have a physical location in that state where the item is being sold and are legally required by state laws to charge sales tax.

It's similar to going to a store in another state and making a purchase. You'll be assessed the local sales tax.

However, possession, control and risk of loss of any property purchased passes to the customer, or their representative, at the location of the sale. So the sales tax applies whether or not the intention is to transport the property to a location outside the state (and/or country) and whether or not the property is actually transported elsewhere.

This is all complicated by the fact that state tax laws regarding the sales taxation of vehicles vary by state. In some states, sales tax is collected by the seller and remitted to the state. In other states, the sales tax is not collected by the seller but is paid by the customer when they license, title or register the vehicle.

So it's possible for a vehicle that's purchased in one state, where sales tax is required at time of sale, to then be transported to another state where taxes are charged at time of registration.

NC, your home state, doesn't charge sales tax for vehicles, from what I understand, which is why you were not assessed that charge on the previous vehicles. I don't know anything about sales tax in GA, so I'll let you know what I hear back on Monday.

 

[FrankUSMC]

Sorry, I fell on my sword....I just checked my paper work and I DID NOT pay taxes on the trucks I bought, it was the other items I was taxed on that I had gotten. My mistake....sorry GL...
One of the few, Frank USMC RET

 

[chuck500cc]

Umm. NO! The tax charged is NOT like tax charged at a Wal-Mart or others. The tax charged on a veh. goes to pave roads for that state. Robyn you and I have gone round and round about this.

SS members: If you are charged by GL tax on a veh. for a state you do not live in call that state and there is a very good chance that you will get your money back. Not saying that GL is doing anything wrong or unethical, but it seems they collect sales tax reguardless if they have to or not. If they don't and you/we don't persue it where does the money go?? BTW, I just picked up my first truck and Shelia was great and the process went about what I expected.

Chuck XD Fan

 

[CUCVFAN]

This is all complicated by the fact that state tax laws regarding the sales taxation of vehicles vary by state. In some states, sales tax is collected by the seller and remitted to the state. In other states, the sales tax is not collected by the seller but is paid by the customer when they license, title or register the vehicle.

So it's possible for a vehicle that's purchased in one state, where sales tax is required at time of sale, to then be transported to another state where taxes are charged at time of registration.

These statements pretty much sum it up. This is where GL falls on their face as far as this vehicle collector is concerned. In those states where vehicles are treated differently, GL does not seem to be aware of it until someone points it out and proves it. If I buy a television in PA, I pay PA sales tax. If I buy a car in PA, I pay no tax as an out of state resident. The detail is subtle, but very important. I cannot tell you how many people I know who have paid tax twice, when they should not have, and how many thousands (or more likely hundreds of thousands) of dollars have been charged incorrectly.

You are also correct on the second statement above. It does occur that states charge you tax and then you pay tax when you get home, too. But, this is not as common in my limited experience. GL knows where I live. They should also know what states charge what taxes on what products to non-residents. When I purchase a tax-exempt "thing" in one of those states, I should not be charged tax.

I will commend GL for getting it right in MD the last time I won a truck, but I have wasted more cell minutes and stress arguing with GL about taxes than the "courtesy credit" I was promised could ever cover. I hope you get a good answer for Rebelpride, because he already knows the answer based on the Georgia tax law links I posted... I'll stand on the sidelines and wait to see how this plays out.

 

[CUCVFAN]

Umm. NO! The tax charged is NOT like tax charged at a Wal-Mart or others. The tax charged on a veh. goes to pave roads for that state.

Not all states do this. MD does, and from your post, I presume TX does too. But, not all states are set up this way.

 

[Rebelpride]

Robyn,
Thank you for looking into this matter for me, I look forward to hearing back from you next week.

 

[EdMontana]

we are required by law to charge our customers sales tax. .

Now this LAW is every State law? Certainly is not a fed Law for State sales...

I just like to understand how it works, not looking to stir anything here........

I have a business and pay all my taxes in my State, my sales are 99% Internet sales and if I sell anything out of my State no one told me that I am "required" to charge tax for sales done out of State....checked once with my Accountant and twice with the State, UNLESS if my business is also a registered business in other State.

Now, is my understand and please correct me if I am wrong, GL is a business in AZ.......... now, to collect auto sales tax in other States is ONLY possible IF GL have a registered business as an auto dealership in each of those States, one can purchase and sell a limited number of vehicles per year (limit vary with each State, usually 5) without a valid auto sales business.

I cannot see any way to turn the collected funds to every State without being a legit business in that particular State

The auto sales tax is paid at the time of the sale and registration (in the State), now those trucks have no title or registration when sold and the origin State should not get any tax but the home State where the vehicle will be registered.

Example, in 1986 I purchased a brand new Corvette in NH (no tax in NH)...but I was living in MA so I paid the MA tax when registered it there...later, I move to VT....had to pay VT tax again to have it registered in VT.

Now, not to make confusion with tax we pay to pave the streets etc....that is what we pay every year in order to get a new decal for the tag...maybe some States use a portion of the sales tax for this matter...I don't know.

Going further, even the "vehicles" sold and used to be scrap should have a title and registration prior going to scrap....that's the only control the State have in order to collect tax on that sales.....so, for those thinking that scrap will be the way to go, think twice because you will need wait for the SF-97 too. ((Unless vehicle is sold not as a vehicle but a total pile of scrap metal...))

 

[USMilitarySurplus]

Ed, like I said above, because we have a physical location in a state, we're required to collect taxes and remit to that state. Since we've been audited several times, I'm going to jump to the conclusion that we're registered as a business in those states, if that's the requirement.

Chuck, from what I understand, some states do have a sales tax for vehicles. But I would encourage all our buyers to contact our customer service dept and/ or the tax office for a state and find out if an error has been made. If so, we/they can issue a refund. Two members here on SS were issued tax refunds last week.

Vehicles in the 6000 series sales on the website are considered scrap and titling paperwork will not be issued for them at this time. They're sold according to the amount or poundage of metal included in the lot. I've looked into this on behalf of military vehicle hobbyists because I know you buy vehicles that need repair in order to fix them up. But this is the state of affairs right now and I really don't know if that will change in the future.

 

[m16ty]

When I registered my deuce the lady at the Court House told me they charged me $100 too much for tax. I took my invoice with me to prove I had already paid the tax. Did they remit that extra $100 to the state or did they put in in their pockets?

 

[tmbrwolf]

Robyn, Not to shoot the messenger here BUT... I'm a resident of Kansas, unless GL has a DEALER license in Kansas you cannot collect the sales tax on vehicles, doesn't matter if you are a registered business or not, it just does't apply to vehicles different rules / laws, and to make matters worse in Kansas the tax is collected depending on the county the person lives in! This information comes directly from the vehicle registraion folks. I think most people understand you have to collect sales tax and I don't have a problem paying sales tax on general items, but vehicle's are a different ball of wax, Robyn you state that GL has to follow the law on sales tax collections and I agree with that, but GL has to follow the law correctly, if you do vehicle sales those may fall under a different set of laws and GL should obey them also. For the most part it should be simple, A- state collects sales tax on all vehicle sales regardless of residency, B-state requires collection on residents only, C-state requires collection at registration, ect. Follow the laws by all means but do it correctly!

 

[Melvinitis]

On military bases, depending on the agreement when the gov got the base, there should be no sales tax. When ever I am on a base, and buy from a private vendor on the base, I do not pay sales tax (again depending on the base). What is the difference between GL and the vendor who is selling trinkets in the base mall? Don't say they are a gov entity because they are not all AAFES or DECA afiliated, they are simply renting space like GL does from the military.

Again, depending on the base, only military members get the no tax discount... but at Fort McCoy as a for instance, I don't pay a tax on anything, why did I have to pay tax for a cargo box cover?

I know there is a difference, but yet there is not, why does the GSA not charge taxes with their sales?

My two cents... and my fustration...

 

[USMilitarySurplus]

Here's what I heard back, RebelPride: "We are required to charge sales tax on purchases of motor vehicles in GA unless exempted by state statute. The exemptions would require some sort of tax form, completed by the customer. We apparently had no such form on file for this customer and he was correctly charged sales tax on his purchase in GA. That being noted, the customer can complete the form indicated and we would be able to refund the GA sales tax. We would also require a copy of his driver’s license or some sort of proof of residency for his home state. The request should go through Customer Service."

I would suggest contacting them through email and doing it sooner rather than later: info at govliquidation dot com

Believe me when I say that customers have asked sales tax questions for many years. There is nothing wrong with inquiring about it, in fact like I said before, if you believe an error has been made, give us a chance to correct it. But your best bet is to email customer service and include sale and lot numbers, customer number, etc. The more specifics, the better.

 

[dm22630]

I am going through this now. I live in Virgina and the GL location that I bought from is in Virginia.

Previously, I bought a M-332 trailer and was NOT charged sales tax. I did NOT file any tax exemption form with GL, yet magically, I wasn't charged. I thought (in my infinite wisdom) that GL must know how vehicle/trailer sales work in VA and thats why I wasn't charged.

Now, I just won 2 auctions (also at a GL site in VA) for 2 M35A2s. When I looked at the online invoice, it is showing 5% sales tax due. I chatted with a GL rep on the "live help" and after explaining my case to her (that in VA, tax is collected at the DMV and not by the seller) she said she would fix it and call/email me. I did not hear back from her, so I called to see what had been done. I was transferred to a very RUDE "customer service" rep and was told repeatedly that because I hadn't previously filed a tax exemption form that there is nothing she can do and that I had to pay the tax shown. I then got back on the live help and was transferred to the same rep I had originally spoken with, and was asked the same set of questions. It was only after I gave her the info for the previous sale of the M-332 that I was not charged any tax (without filing anything), that she informed me that the listing had been "incorrectly filed" in GL's computer system and that my invoice would be updated within 7 business days to remove the tax.

The whole ordeal took AT LEAST an hour.

My question to GL is ---- WHERE on the tax exemption form from your site does it have a place for MOTOR VEHICLES/TRAILERS tax exemption??? I would be happy to file one to save future headaches. And if all the people in the customer service dept didn't have to deal with tons of phone calls about vehicle taxes....they could work on getting SF97s done quicker. haha

 

[CUCVFAN]

..."We are required to charge sales tax on purchases of motor vehicles in GA unless exempted by state statute. The exemptions would require some sort of tax form, completed by the customer. We apparently had no such form on file for this customer and he was correctly charged sales tax on his purchase in GA. That being noted, the customer can complete the form indicated and we would be able to refund the GA sales tax.

Robyn,
First, even though I'm not the one with the problem, I appreciate the fact that you are trying to help. Unfortunately, I get the feeling you are only a step above us on that GL totem pole. And we're pretty low... It's kind of funny, in a sad, pathetic way, but usually the vendor doesn't want the customer to feel like they are unimportant. But, I digress...

This is the problem with GL and why everyone gets so frustrated. First off, there's this: "The exemptions would require some sort of tax form". Huh? WHAT FORM SPECIFICALLY???

Followed by this: "...the customer can complete the form indicated..." WHAT?!?!?! Did I miss something? WHAT FORM?

Personally, I think GL should know these rules and pay attention to where we live. They have our addresses! If I buy a vehicle in a state where tax is exempt on vehicles, they should notify me that I need to fill out the form in order to get a refund. But they should also tell me which form...

 

[Rebelpride]

Robyn,
From what I was able to research I could not find any statutes in Georgia law that exempted me from sales tax. But if you could clarify what form I need to fill out to be refunded the tax I will do so. And I am the customer and end user. I also have just received my PAID invoice today, is it too late to fill to be refunded my tax.

 

[CUCVFAN]

Rebelpride,
I thought we were done with the subject, but you sound like you're laying down on this one (shame on you), so here's your proof:

O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3


GEORGIA CODE
TITLE 48. REVENUE AND TAXATION
CHAPTER 8. SALES AND USE TAXES
ARTICLE 1. STATE SALES AND USE TAX
PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3 (2007)
§ 48-8-3. Exemptions


The sales and use taxes levied or imposed by this article shall not apply to:
....

(44) Sales of motor vehicles, as defined in Code Section 48-5-440, to nonresident purchasers for immediate transportation to and use in another state in which the vehicles are required to be registered, provided the seller obtains from the purchaser and retains an affidavit stating the name and address of the purchaser, the state in which the vehicle will be registered and operated, the make, model, and serial number of the vehicle, and such other information as the commissioner may require;
....

Just like it said in the first link. Tell GL to look it up! They have all the required information. It sounds pretty clear to me. You should NOT have paid tax!

Robyn,
Can I get a weekly check from GL for this type of stuff??? Or, maybe just a portion of the tax they collect and don't refund?