> For online sales, if the vendor doesn't have a presence in your state,
> it is supposed to be your responsibility to file the proper forms and
> pay the sales tax yourself to your state.  Otherwise merchants would
> have to file paperwork in every state in which they have customers.
> Merchants only have to charge sales tax in states in which they have a
> presence.
> If Digikey is now asking for your exemption number, maybe they are
> putting a facility in your state.  Of course this is all conjecture.


Residents of states with sales tax are supposed to pay "Use Tax" on
interstate purchase. The California 540 Tax form has a line for this.
There is an interstate cooperative being set up to have sellers in one
state report to several states, though I don't know the details of this. I
had always thought it'd just be simplest if states collected sales tax on
all sales, whether within their state or to other states. This appears to
run into two problems, though. The US Constitution Commerce Clause
prevents states from taxing interstate sales. I had always thought this
was an effort to prevent states from establishing import duties on goods
from other states, but apparently it also applies to what are essential
"export duties" on sales to other states. The other more interesting (to
me) issue is that one who pays taxes is to benefit from those taxes. If
someone in New York were to pay a California sales tax, they would not
benefit from that tax, since the tax is for the benefit of the residents
of California. So, we're going to end up with some convoluted system where
vendors in one state collect sales tax for another state...

Harold


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