• Lojcs@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Could you not write this less condescending? I’m sorry I’m not from the US. When I heard people say that sales tax isn’t included in the price and that you need to file your taxes every year I assumed that was how the tax was collected.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I’m sorry I’m not from the US.

      Sales, real estate, and other consumption taxes aren’t unique to the US.

      When I heard people say that sales tax isn’t included in the price and that you need to file your taxes every year

      You’re hearing bullshit. There was a historical loophole by which online merchants asserted that sales taxes needed to be collected from the individuals purchasing the goods rather than the businesses selling them. That loophole has long since been closed.

      But virtually nobody paid the tax. Few people even know how or what they might owe. And even if they had, you don’t need to be a citizen to buy something online.

    • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      In the United States there is federal corp tax taken from documented workers and paid to the national government (federal tax) by businesses. State tax is also taken the same way and paid to the state.

      This just income tax, but there are many other forms of taxes. Vehicle tax, gas tax, food tax, clothing tax, restaurant tax, etc. These all go to the state and vary in amount depending on the state.
      This is also why our prices don’t include tax. So apple/amazon can show a single price and your state tax gets tacked on at checkout.

      So this “undocumented Immigrants paid X in taxes” is them paying taxes on good but not income. Businesses can pay these people in cash under the table and not paying taxes or benefits for them.