Wesley Snipes' Financial Tip of the Day
Please note: The following suggestion is surely illegal and is probably considered tax fraud. So if Uncle Sam hunts you down, don't look at me-- you shouldn't have followed tax advice from Wesley Snipes.
I've been doing some online shopping at Amazon.com, recently. You know, doing my part to help stimulate the economy.
Well, actually Deb and I, having spent a total of $28 on our wedding ceremony (thanks to Symposia bookstore), are now getting to enjoy finding stuff to buy with our wedding gifts. For example, not only does it feel good to finally own a modern TV after Eli Manning screwed me out of one last year*, but we've just donated our old television set (which was still going strong) to a formerly homeless individual who just signed a lease on a new apartment.
Anyway, I've realized that sometimes Amazon includes tax in a purchase. And sometimes they don't. Whenever I have items shipped to my work address, New York state tax is always charged. But when purchases are shipped to my New Jersey home address, no tax charges appear on my receipt (online or off). And this is all very curious since NJ does, in fact, charge 7% sales tax which, although less than NY, still exists.
So, there you have it. If you live in New Jersey, buy everything on Amazon and skip out on the sales tax bill!
Well, maybe not. Ever see that section in your tax form that asks if you have purchases that you need to pay sales taxes for? Technically, even if you go to Delaware (where there is no sales tax) and buy an expensive item, you are required to report that in your state tax return.
But, eh, what's the worst that could happen if you don't?
Wesley?
--- Chris Dlugozima
*Inspirica, whom I've tutored for throughout the last 8.5 years, ran a football pool last year to celebrate their 25th anniversary. The winner (or winners) got a flat-screen TV. Basically, one had to pick a winning team each week, and each team could only have been picked once during the regular season. If a participant's pick lost twice, he/she would be eliminated.
I made it all the way through the regular season, sailed through the playoffs and only needed to pick the correct Superbowl winner. And we're just talking "winner", here. Not even the spread.
Giants vs. Patriots.
Yeah, it seems so obvious now. But, really, if I had picked the Giants and the Patriots won, completing their undefeated season, I would have felt even dumber. So I picked the Patriots... and the rest is history.
Sometime later, Deb, who frequents the same residential building that Eli Manning lives in, actually ran into Eli in the elevator. But she didn't realize this until later. (She sensed it was someone famous. But only after I'd shown her a picture of Eli did it click in her head.)
If only Deb had known that it was Eli Manning beside her in that elevator, she could have demanded that he buy us a TV to make-up for the one he'd lost for us. It was the least he could've done.
Posted by Deb Steinberg at 3/30/2009 11:02 AM 
Categories: FinancialLoft
Tags: New Jersey Inspirica Patriots football stimulating the economy Amazon Wesley Snipes Eli Manning Giants New York Financial loft sales tax Superbowl online shopping
Categories: FinancialLoft
Tags: New Jersey Inspirica Patriots football stimulating the economy Amazon Wesley Snipes Eli Manning Giants New York Financial loft sales tax Superbowl online shopping
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