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View Full Version : NH stickin' it to MA




jrich4rpaul
02-10-2009, 07:58 AM
http://www.governor.nh.gov/news/2009/020609.html


CONCORD - Gov. John Lynch today announced he will propose legislation to protect New Hampshire businesses from having to collect sales taxes on behalf of Massachusetts.

“We need to send a clear message that Massachusetts and other states shall not impose their sales taxes on New Hampshire businesses. That is why I will be proposing legislation that will prohibit any New Hampshire business from collecting other states’ sales taxes on items purchased in New Hampshire stores,” Gov. Lynch said.

“We have chosen not to have a sales tax here in New Hampshire and we are not about to let Massachusetts - or any state - impose its sales tax on our businesses for items purchased in New Hampshire stores,” Gov. Lynch said.


I emailed the governor in praise of this decision.

MsDoodahs
02-10-2009, 08:09 AM
love it!!

nobody's_hero
02-10-2009, 09:50 AM
What? This should be a "given"?

What have they been doing up in New Hampshire that led things to the point where another state could come in and collect sales tax? :confused:

I'm not disagreeing with the governor's decision, but what the hell is going on in New (Old?) England?

ItsTime
02-10-2009, 09:54 AM
How the hell could they even do that? Check everyones ID that buys items? This gives a whole new meaning to mass-holes

Primbs
02-10-2009, 10:01 AM
There was a lot of resentment against Romney in New Hampshire during the primaries. There are many contentious issues between Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

gb13
02-10-2009, 10:03 AM
What? This should be a "given"?

What have they been doing up in New Hampshire that led things to the point where another state could come in and collect sales tax? :confused:

I'm not disagreeing with the governor's decision, but what the hell is going on in New (Old?) England?

NH didn't do anything. I don't know all the nuances of it, but basically, MA has been hassling Town Fair Tire for not collecting MA saes tax on a purchase that a MA resident bought at one of their NH locations. The commonwealth of MA is coming down on the party who purchased the tires in NH and didn't declare that they are liable for sales tax on the items, and they are pestering NH to start collecting MA sales tax on items that MA residents buy in NH.

It's more total bullshit from the state that now wants to RFID every car on their roads and track drivers' miles and destinations...

muzzled dogg
02-10-2009, 06:15 PM
awesome

Aratus
02-11-2009, 09:34 AM
i thought town lines were and are town lines, likewise county lines are county lines, and (drumrolls) state lines are state lines... [and keep in mind i'm a baystater!]

bill50
02-11-2009, 11:10 AM
I'm from MA and I'd like to say fuck Massachusetts! I can't wait to graduate from college and get the fuck out of this shithole.

Rael
02-11-2009, 11:36 AM
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The Boston Globe
State chases sales taxes in N.H.
Targets Mass. tire purchasers
Erik Pizano put tires on a Massachusetts vehicle at Town Fair Tire Center in Nashua. The company is fighting the tax policy. Erik Pizano put tires on a Massachusetts vehicle at Town Fair Tire Center in Nashua. The company is fighting the tax policy. (Globe Staff Photo / Mark Wilson)
By Jenn Abelson
Globe Staff / February 3, 2009

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Massachusetts has ordered a tire chain to charge Bay State residents a 5 percent sales tax on their purchases in New Hampshire in an unprecedented move that could have huge implications for consumers and other merchants.
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Town Fair Tire Centers, which is based in Connecticut but has six shops in New Hampshire and 25 in Massachusetts, is fighting back with a lawsuit now before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that accuses the state of violating the US commerce clause. If Massachusetts prevails in the case, which is likely to be heard next month, it could drive up costs for consumers and retailers such as Best Buy and Sears that sell expensive home appliances and other goods in New Hampshire, which doesn't have a state sales tax. It also could mean millions of dollars in new tax revenue for the Commonwealth as it faces a $1.1 billion budget deficit, according to tax analysts.

"This is a first-of-its-kind case," said Fred Nicely, general counsel of the Council on State Taxation, a nonprofit trade association of multistate corporations engaged in interstate and international business. "There's huge ramifications to the entire retail community."

To others, it's a case of "Taxachusetts" striking back at the "Live Free or Die" pride of New Hampshire. The Granite State has long lured Massachusetts residents over the border to enjoy tax-free shopping. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has even gotten involved, kicking off a campaign one year to persuade Bay Staters to head north so they don't have to cram all of their shopping in when the Commonwealth decides to hold a three-day "sales tax holiday."

The idea that Massachusetts consumers can't enjoy a tax break isn't sitting well with the locals in this troubled economy. Just last week Governor Deval Patrick proposed taxing alcohol, candy, and soda, and raising taxes on hotels and meals.

"People are free to buy their tires wherever they want at the best price," said Erin Willet of Lunenburg, who routinely drives 20 miles to Nashua, N.H., to avoid tax on household items and big ticket purchases like appliances. "If Massachusetts doesn't like it, then they should have predictable tax-free holidays so that people can plan their shopping to take advantage of it."

The Town Fair Tire legal battle dates back to 2003, when the Massachusetts Department of Revenue audited the three New Hampshire stores Town Fair Tire operated at the time, after receiving evidence that Bay State residents were driving up to buy tires and having them installed at the chain's shops. The auditors identified 313 sales made to Massachusetts consumers, based on invoices that included Commonwealth addresses and in some cases telephone numbers. The state's tax authorities say the records demonstrate that Town Fair Tire knew the customer intended to use the goods in the Commonwealth, and therefore should have charged a 5 percent "use tax" - essentially a sales tax for items purchased for use or storage in the Bay State. Those taxes then would be given to Massachusetts. Following the audit, Massachusetts authorities assessed the company about $108,947 in tax, penalties, and interest related to the sales.

age 2 of 2 --

Kevin W. Brown, general counsel of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, said the case attempts to address a difficult and protracted problem. Currently, New Hampshire merchants who also have shops in Massachusetts are required to collect taxes on items that are bought by Bay State residents over the Internet and via catalogs and mailed to their homes.
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In the 1990s, a similar lawsuit involving Circuit City determined that the Commonwealth could require the electronics chain to charge taxes on merchandise ordered in Massachusetts but picked up in the Granite State. But there have been no court cases in Massachusetts involving purchases made entirely out of state.

Until now, consumers have been solely responsible for paying use taxes for eligible purchases initiated and completed in New Hampshire when filing their state tax returns. This isn't an issue in other border states, like Connecticut and Rhode Island, because they charge sales tax and there is less incentive for Bay State consumers to cross the border.

But many Massachusetts residents don't file use taxes, tax authorities say, and individual violators are nearly impossible to detect. The invoices and receipts kept by retailers, however, have made it possible for the state to track down the customers' plans to use their merchandise in the Commonwealth, according to Brown.

"The use tax is designed to take away an incentive for the buyer to go out of state and not pay the taxes," Brown said. "That's why we need to be enforcing the use tax because it protects local vendors." Brown said he did not have figures for how much Massachusetts loses in sales taxes because of purchases made in New Hampshire. But several economists estimate losses to be anywhere from $130 million to $410 million annually.

Town Fair Tire, however, says it has no certain knowledge of where the tires will be used - Concord, N.H., or Concord, Mass. - and is under no obligation to ask customers where they plan to bring the merchandise after they leave the store.

Consumers buying tires aren't always the owners and operators of the car, nor is the address given necessarily linked to the vehicle, according to David Nagle, tax partner at Sullivan & Worcester LLP in Boston, which is representing Town Fair Tire. The company also says it could be held liable for incorrectly guessing where customers plan to use the tires and charging tax when it isn't warranted.

Town Fair Tire appealed the assessment to the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board and lost last June. The merchant then brought its case to the appeals court, accusing the Commonwealth, among other allegations, of violating the commerce clause that gives Congress the right to regulate interstate trade. In December, the Supreme Judicial Court, on its own motion, took the case.

While Massachusetts tax authorities say the Town Fair Tire case has narrow application, Brown said it could conceivably be applied to other merchandise installed on vehicles, such as ski racks or stereo systems.

If the state succeeds with the tire case, tax specialists say, the ruling could have implications for many New Hampshire merchants who collect customer information or offer financing. Furniture stores and electronics chains, for example, could conceivably be required to determine consumers' intended use for a leather chair, a big screen television, or the contents of their entire shopping cart.

"We're just outraged at this case," said Nancy Kyle, president of the Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire. "New Hampshire prides itself on being sales-tax free. It's not a New Hampshire retailer's job to track where someone goes with their merchandise and then pay sales taxes to other states. What's to stop Maine or Vermont and Canada from doing the same?"