The DMV is so insidious. They are allowed to tax used property sales.

Huh? Everybody who doesn't itemize is entitled to the standard deduction.

 

It's truly a beautiful place, but it nearly self-destructed when it
decided that the timber business was sinful and threw the loggers and
those who depended on them out of business. Last time we drove down the
Rogue River nearly every house was for sale. We could have bought a
lovely house on the river for next to nothing. Feh.

--
Cheers,
Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"If you put the government in charge of the desert, there would
be a sand shortage within ten years." -- M. Friedman (?)

 

Every California sales transaction, no matter how minor, is taxed. As
far as cars go, we've always bought old cars and they took our word for
what we paid for them. Since they're so old, the annual fee is $51 for
the van and $78 (I think) for the pickup, which needs a commercial
license due to lobbying efforts by the truckers' unions unless you plan
to never carry lumber, manure, cement or a number of other things in the
bed.

Actually, you don't have to pay tax on items whose sales tax at the
local rate would be less than a penny. When I worked at Sears I (and
every other salesperson) had the table memorized, but it's different
now.

--
Cheers,
Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"If you put the government in charge of the desert, there would
be a sand shortage within ten years." -- M. Friedman (?)

 

I'm sure they don't enforce it, but it's still The Law.

--
Cheers,
Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"If you put the government in charge of the desert, there would
be a sand shortage within ten years." -- M. Friedman (?)

 

Wouldn't that only apply if you sold the car for more than you paid for
it?

--
Cheers,
Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"If you put the government in charge of the desert, there would
be a sand shortage within ten years." -- M. Friedman (?)

 

This is *not* true. Sales tax is *not* itemizable (is that a real verb?)
Only *excise* tax can be itemized.

Floyd (lives in WA state and knows)

 

That may be the case in the state in which you live, but please understand that
states can and do explicity exempt occasional (ie. not more than once per quarter)
yard sales and the like from sales tax requirements. For example, South Carolina
and Massachusetts do have such an exemption.

 

Then you're playing their game.

 

If states add your state refund back into your _state_ income, they are taxing
you on your refund, which is double-taxation.

If you itemize, you have to add state refunds back into your Federal
income, but that's because you deducted that amount the year before.

 

If you don't itemize, you don't deduct state taxes and therefore do
not have to add the refund into the federal income. You've been
handing the IRS money even they don't think they deserve. See the
instructions for line 10.

 

Nope. Pennsylvania, for one, specifically exempts such things. I can
hold a yard sale and sell all my old crap and legally not be required
to collect and pay any sales tax (nor PA income tax) on it. Not all
the country is yet the hell that is California government.

 

This year NY state is adding a line where you are supposed to put in
any mail order or out of state purchases you made so that they can collect
the full NY sales tax, or the difference between what you paid in the other
state and the NY state sales tax. I wonder how many people are actually
going to put in an amount on that line?

 

Hardly just the fault of unions. I'm no union apologist, but there
aren't unions keeping in business departments in the government whose
jobs were done 50 years ago.



John

 

Not true in the State of Maryland. The Federal Government requires
that you list your previous year's state refund as income as you had
already taken a deduction on the "full" amount of taxes paid to the
state in that year. In order to then do the Maryland taxes, you take
the gross income figure from your federal return and SUBTRACT out the
refund of the previous year.

 

Last time I checked, sales tax *could* be deducted as an itemized
expense. The thing is, I once tracked it (some 20 years ago) and it
didn't even come close to being worth the bother.

 

I've never heard of getting a refund of sales tax paid, only income tax
if it was overpaid, so I presume that was the topic of discussion here.
State income tax is indeed deductible if you itemize.

Matt

 

Sales tax hasn't been deductible any time in my recollection, which is
more than 20 years ago. Which country are you talking about?


Matt

 

As an *expense* vis-a-vis a business, yes. But one of the side effects
of Reagan's tax reform was that state sales tax is no longer able to
be deducted (in the same manner as excise tax) on Form 1040
schedule A (which is generally limited to income, real estate, &
personal property taxes).

FloydR

 

It's not The Law in California either. Occasional sales, such as garage sales, are
generally not subject to sales tax if the seller is not engaged in business
requiring a seller's permit and has less than three garage sale type sales per year.
See CA tax sections 6006.5 and 6367.

 

Your point? Maybe you should read more carefully. Everybody who does
not itemize can take the standard deduction. However, the amount of
the deduction is far higher than they are entitled to, because people
who do not itemize do not have deductions equal to the standard
deduction. Ergo they take deductions that exceed their actual
expense, which of course leads to the statement that they are getting
a deduction that is greater than they should be.

I can only assume your confusion is due to your being a liberal who
feels we are only entitled to that which the government gives us.