writes:
"Glenna Rose" wrote in message
news:fc.003d0941022ba0753b9aca001ab6f40a.22ba07b@ pmug.org...
writes:
[snip]
It adds up...at least
we don't have sales tax! I went back to Seattle for a week to visit
family,
and I had totally forgotten there was such a thing as sales tax ;-)

However, showing your Oregon driver's license, you didn't have to pay
it.
That is better than it was in past decades.

Glenna

Really? I show my Oregon ID and don't have to pay tax?

That's right. In fact, if you stop at the outlet malls in Centralia, most
cashiers will ask you if you are a Washington resident before they ring up
your purchase. That is why.

The reason for this exception is to encourage Idaho and Oregon residents
to shop in Washington because so many border Washingtonians shop out of
state. Legally those Washington residents are supposed to fill out an
excise tax form for out-of-state purchases and pay the sales tax, but I've
yet to know of anyone who does it. Ever so often, the agents will stop
someone and make an example of them which has not happened for several
years now so it may be coming soon; who knows.

It always amused me how many Vancouver folks went to Safeway at Jantzen
Beach to buy groceries to save the then 3 or 4 percent sales tax and paid
at least 10 percent more for the groceries - the irony is that they paid
more for their groceries on which there was no sales tax anyway. In
Washington, food and medicine is not taxed; the exception being food eaten
on premises as in restaurants or ready-to-eat take-out food. The sales
tax is intended to be for retail purchase; food is not a retail purchase.
Oddity: Ice is considered a beverage and is subject to sales tax as is
soda pop. Things like toothpaste, tissue, etc., are taxed, but not food
to be prepared off premises.

So, next time you come north, be sure to show your Oregon driver's license
so as not to pay the sales tax on your purchases. There used to be a form
you can get from Olympia for a card to carry (for a fee of course), but
that may be history now. (This is not to be confused with resale
certificates used by business to buy materials/supplies to be re-sold.)

Glenna

====================

http://dor.wa.gov/content/FindTaxesA...x/Default.aspx

Qualified Nonresident Sales
Sales of tangible personal property for use outside of Washington by
residents of: Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon,
American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova
Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec, and the Yukon Territory.
Tax exempt sales to these residents are at the discretion of the seller.
Note: When making tax exempt sales, the seller must see photo
identification, such as a driver's license, issued by the buyer's state of
residence. The seller must also record certain information. This exemption
only applies to sales of goods which will not be used in Washington. It
does not apply to lodging, restaurant meals, or other sales which involve
consumption in Washington.