Washing State sales tax

[gerksguns]

I just recieved notice that sales tax is to be collected on interstate transfers of firearms.
According to the notice I recieved tax is to be charged on the total price of the firearm including freight and insurance.
I am an FFL and this is new to me, does anyone have feedback.
If I am correct this sucks!!!!!!!!

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[Blitzkrieg]

There's a long thread on this, already.. I don't have the link but I'm sure someone will post it

Yes if I remember right WA State is now threatening FFLs that they have to collect tax on ALL interstate transfers, even gifts/trades

Only good news I can see from this..I predict this will greatly increase the sales of stripped AR lowers

 

[joeroket]

It is completely correct.

<broken link removed>

 

[joeroket]

There's a long thread on this, already.. I don't have the link but I'm sure someone will post it

Yes if I remember right WA State is now threatening FFLs that they have to collect tax on ALL interstate transfers, even gifts/trades

Only good news I can see from this..I predict this will greatly increase the sales of stripped AR lowers

Only on gifts if it cannot be shown that the previous owner did not pay sales or use tax on the firearm when they bought it.

I buy my Ar lowers in a shop because I want to see and touch the one I am buying.

 

[deen_ad]

Yep: a couple of years ago a local shop got hit with this. The owner had to pay the uncollected taxes out of his pocket. This interpretation of the law is NOT new, it's been in place for something like five years. The old DOR webpage had the posting date on it and it was older than most realize. The page linked above is fairly new but I wish they had left the old date in place so people would realize how old it really is.

8 US Presidents have been NRA members
80 MILLION gun owners didn't shoot anyone today, a few criminals did!!

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The "Feedback Score" is low by 4, not everyone posts it I guess.

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
Washington Arms Collector member
Arms Collectors of South West Washington member

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

yes, it is true, the tax is there, it has to be paid, nothing new in the requirement, just that the department of revenue is enforcing it now. They aren't stopping people shopping in Orygun as they come across the bridge for an inspection (yet) but you are legally s'posed to pay sales tax on what you buy out of state all the time.

 

[captqc]

yes, it is true, the tax is there, it has to be paid, nothing new in the requirement, just that the department of revenue is enforcing it now. They aren't stopping people shopping in Orygun as they come across the bridge for an inspection (yet) but you are legally s'posed to pay sales tax on what you buy out of state all the time.

Washington tried that once and almost started a border war! They were watching Washingtonians load their cars with stuff at Jantzen Beach Mall, following them across the river and putting the squeeze on them. The Oregon Attorney General threatened action if they didn't stop. Two thirds of the cars in the mall lot have Washington plates, not hard to see that people are trying to save a buck. Funny thing is that Oregonians can show ID in Washington and not pay sales tax. Go figure! Gary

 

[gunslinger1911]

i just had a trade transfer done with C&C (vancouver) and the Gun Broker (portland) and was not charged sales tax because there is no "purchase price" to collect tax on...however if i was buying then tax would have been collected on the "purchase price" not the assesed value of the firearm...

 

[Dieselfuel12v]

I like my FFL, that's all I can say.

 

[smurf hunter]

As a consumer, here's what I don't understand...

I buy a complete high end AR-15 with a various match grade accessories for $2000 from out of state and have it shipped to my neighborhood FFL.
WA sales tax on that is nearly $200. According to the law I must pay that at time of transfer.

Knowing this, why wouldn't I only send the lower (stripped or complete) to the FFL, and send the upper+accessories via UPS ground to my home?
I might waste a little on shipping, but I'm saving $180 in sales tax if I only send a lower receiver to the FFL.

I'm fairly sure that wouldn't be illegal, as I can order an upper receiver from a variety of out of state merchants and pay no sales tax today.

 

[pchewn]

As a consumer, here's what I don't understand...

I buy a complete high end AR-15 with a various match grade accessories for $2000 from out of state and have it shipped to my neighborhood FFL.
WA sales tax on that is nearly $200. According to the law I must pay that at time of transfer.

Knowing this, why wouldn't I only send the lower (stripped or complete) to the FFL, and send the upper+accessories via UPS ground to my home?
I might waste a little on shipping, but I'm saving $180 in sales tax if I only send a lower receiver to the FFL.

I'm fairly sure that wouldn't be illegal, as I can order an upper receiver from a variety of out of state merchants and pay no sales tax today.

This would be illegal, because you are supposed to pay WA State taxes on the upper. (Sales tax if bought in WA, USE tax if bought out of state and then brought to WA). See here: Do you owe use tax?

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Only on gifts if it cannot be shown that the previous owner did not pay sales or use tax on the firearm when they bought it.

That's just a tar pit to cause more difficulty for the receiver. Who is going to prove that? And if it's a private transfer then the previous owner may indeed have paid sales tax, already..

I buy my Ar lowers in a shop because I want to see and touch the one I am buying.

~~~

 

[Blitzkrieg]

yes, it is true, the tax is there, it has to be paid, nothing new in the requirement, just that the department of revenue is enforcing it now. They aren't stopping people shopping in Orygun as they come across the bridge for an inspection (yet) but you are legally s'posed to pay sales tax on what you buy out of state all the time.

If they do try that I predict that small boats with trailers will be hot items

 

[Blitzkrieg]

As a consumer, here's what I don't understand...

I buy a complete high end AR-15 with a various match grade accessories for $2000 from out of state and have it shipped to my neighborhood FFL.
WA sales tax on that is nearly $200. According to the law I must pay that at time of transfer.

Knowing this, why wouldn't I only send the lower (stripped or complete) to the FFL, and send the upper+accessories via UPS ground to my home?
I might waste a little on shipping, but I'm saving $180 in sales tax if I only send a lower receiver to the FFL.

I'm fairly sure that wouldn't be illegal, as I can order an upper receiver from a variety of out of state merchants and pay no sales tax today.

This is what the wise buyer will do now that WA State is selectively enforcing the revenue collection on FFLs

 

[Blitzkrieg]

This would be illegal, because you are supposed to pay WA State taxes on the upper. (Sales tax if bought in WA, USE tax if bought out of state and then brought to WA). See here: Do you owe use tax?

Get real.. no consumer in their right mind pays that tax

 

[CarlMc]

I had a couple weapons transferred via my local FFL and if they're just doing the transfer, have no way of knowing what the actual purchase price is, but base the tax solely on what you tell them it is. My memory was rusty when I was trying to recall exactly what I paid, so I may have understated the price of the firearms. My memory might even be rustier next time.

 

[pchewn]

Get real.. no consumer in their right mind pays that tax

I didn't say the person should pay the tax, I only mentioned that it is illegal. I'll bet that there ARE consumers in their right mind who DO pay the tax .. but very few of them.

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

Get real.. no consumer in their right mind pays that tax

true, but the point is that we are supposed to do so...

 

[Blitzkrieg]

true, but the point is that we are supposed to do so...

Um, yeah

 

[deen_ad]

I didn't say the person should pay the tax, I only mentioned that it is illegal. I'll bet that there ARE consumers in their right mind who DO pay the tax .. but very few of them.

Years ago I went to the local DOR office and asked about paying the tax owed on a washer we bought in OR. They were surprised and it took them a while to even find the forms!

But I do wish you guys would quit discussing ways to cheat the state, my retirement pay depends on people paying what is owed to the state!!

8 US Presidents have been NRA members
80 MILLION gun owners didn't shoot anyone today, a few criminals did!!

----------------------------------------------------------

The "Feedback Score" is low by 4, not everyone posts it I guess.

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
Washington Arms Collector member
Arms Collectors of South West Washington member