Donald Satz wrote:

>This is news to me concerning CDNOW.  I realize that their prices are
>higher than Towers, but I've never found any reason to think CDNOW charges
>tax.  Why would they do this if not required by law? How can Tower avoid
>the law? Could Dave please indicate how he knows that CDNOW charges a tax?
>I charge tax for my services but only because I have no legal choice.

I think some states charge a sales tax on mail orders from out of state
(which a federal court decision has allowed them to do) while others do
not.  So you might wind up paying a sales tax on CDs ordered from outside
the state depending upon whether or not your state requires it.  This said,
not all suppliers necessarily cooperate w/ the tax collecting policies of
their customers' states.  Virginia asks its taxpayers to declare their
untaxed out of state mail order purchases on their income tax returns.
What is especially annoying is the practice of some suppliers like BMG
record club to impose the sales tax not only on the CD but on the S&H as
well.  Since the S&H is itself substantial, their bargain priced CDs, while
still lower priced than most, can wind up costing almost twice as much as
the price at which they are advertised.

Walter Meyer