Have to tell the story of the latest State of California tax rip-off in the name of "solving our budget crisis". If you live in California, you NEED TO KNOW about this.
Today I switched cell phone carriers for a family plan and after a lot of research got a great deal on 3 new phones. With the signing of a 2 year contract agreement 2 of the phones were free and the 3rd cost $100.
When I finally made it through all the forms and info needed I was surprised to see that I was TAXED FOR THE FULL MANUFACTURER'S SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE of the phones, not what I actually PAID.
That's right, about $1000 worth of retail price phones at CA sales tax rates.
BOTTOM LINE: I just paid $100.40 in sales tax for something that cost me $99.98.
According to the Sprint sales rep, California is the only state that does this. All other states apply sales tax to the amount that you actually paid.
Apparently California is the cutting edge in tax rip-offs. Do "Sale Prices" not matter anymore? In terms of cell phones, you are now paying sales tax calculated from the manufacturers suggested retail price. I don't know about other items yet. (Anyone know about this?)
Bend over again my fellow Californians. Just remember one thing... once a policy is in place and is in full swing, it is hard to repeal.
Spread the word on this before other states apply the same policy. This is truly robbery. I will post more on this as I find out more. Any help in info gathering is appreciated.