I mean, whenever the item says $69.99 on the tag for instance (I know for a fact that is not the final price) as ST exists dependent on state having their own percentages added on top. Also, why do visitors have to pay ST on both goods and services despite them not living in the US? Do tourists get reimbursed for that or not?
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Why do visitors have to pay? The point of sales tax is to collect money from non-residents. If anything, it’s locals who should be exempt.
Are you paying by the letter? Just spell out “sales tax” like a normal person.
ST is levied on the same of goods irrespective of the buyer. You’re not exempt just because you owe other forms of tax to another government too. If a seller chose not to charge you on that basis, it would come out of their pocket.
I see it as a bad tax personally. It affects lower earners proportionally more of their wealth, and is often politicised (as when they levy higher tax on sugary soda or smokes). I don’t necessarily hate the idea of discouraging smoking, but the same legal argument can then be used to tax things I might see as normal. That’s how legal precedent works, it generalises and tends to be applied in unexpected ways.
Why do visitors anywhere have to pay any tax? Where are you from that there’s no sales tax and no VAT?
Japan, for one, allows visitors to buy things for use outside Japan without sales tax. Well, to be clear, they refund the sales tax you paid on certain items when you leave the country.
There are a couple of US states that do something similar I believe.
