On 1/24/2012 3:30 PM, wrote:
On 24/01/2012 01:03, Michael Finfer wrote:
On 1/23/2012 5:16 PM, wrote:
On Jan 23, 9:18 am, "Adam H. wrote:

Different sales tax rates apply to different goods in my state.
Also, in
my state, newspapers and magazines are not taxed. It's really obnoxious
to impose all these high sales tax collection costs on merchants.

In my state, newspapers are not taxed, but magazines are taxed. It
got funny with certain periodicals like TV Guide--was that a
"newspaper" or a "magazine"? Different merchants charged it in
different ways.

In my state, most clothes are not taxes, but a few types of clothing
are taxed. Don't know why that is. My state does not tax candy bars,
but it seems that other states do. My state does tax soda.

I wonder how many states tax newspapers. I was surprised to be
charged sales tax in Washington, DC when I bought a paper.


I know you live in NJ also, and you don't have it quite right. NJ does
tax candy, but you have to read the ingredients to determine the
tax-ability of an item. If it contains flour, it is not considered to be
candy, and it is not taxable, things like Kit Kats and Nestle's Crunch.

NJ taxes soft drinks, not just soda, defined as a drink that does not
need refrigeration before opening, that is sweetened, and that is less
than 50% juice. This results in some items being taxed that you would
probably consider to be juice.

NJ taxes newsstand sales of periodicals but not mail subscriptions.

Most states do not tax newspapers, usually defined as periodicals that
are qualified carry legal notices. A few states and DC do tax newspapers.

Also, NJ taxes the extremely expensive fine fur and leather goods (no
other clothing), presumably because if you can afford to buy those, you
can afford the tax. Of the states that exempt clothing, there is some
variation in the definition of what's clothing and what's an accessory,
resulting in variations in taxation.

Michael Finfer
Bridgewater, NJ

What about on petrol, or gasoline, what are the taxes on them in New
Jersey? Is it often that people from neighbouring states who live close
to the state line nip across to tank up their automobiles? Can
authorities do anything about that?

There is an excise tax on gasoline, the lowest in the nation, so it is
common to see out-of-staters filling up in NJ, especially in areas where
you can cross over without paying a hefty toll. I suppose theoretically
the authorities could do something about that, but I have not heard of
any such enforcement actions. Gas prices in NY seem to run about 50
cents higher than in NJ. NJ does not levy sales tax on other fuels,
like charcoal, lighter fluid, and firewood. I don't think there are
excise taxes on those items, but I'd have to check.

Michael Finfer
Bridgewater, NJ

The postal system, like any other "business", is a service. In a VAT
regime, services as well as goods are taxed.

The majority idiots here in British Columbia have voted to dismantle
the provincial portion of the combined fed/prov harmonized VAT, to
return to a "goods only" sales tax for provincial purposes that
cascades through the chain, being applied repetitively at each sales
step... but the unwashed masses don't unnerstand that, thanks to the
bleatings of a disgraced right-wing twit who once led the Provincial
Government a couple of decades ago.

Let's be fair to the idiots.

Our much hated ex Premier Gordon Campbell, who now has a cushy job as High
Commissioner to Britain was elected on a promise NOT to adopt the HST and
within months of being elected, the tax was announce and imposed upon BCers.
It was obvious that given the short implementation time, the Campbell
government already had the plans in the works before the election. This is
why the masses voted in a referendum to have the HST removed. Campbell then
resigned and was replaced by another bag woman, in this case who as said the
HST will take a couple of years to remove. A couple of years to remove and
just over a year to impose up BCers without any public consultations.

The tax may be a just and fair tax but what the majority of people in BC
were P/Oed about was the underhanded way it was imposed.


--
Cheers.

Roger Traviss


Photos of the late HO scale GER: -

http://www.greateasternrailway.com

For more photos not in the above album and kitbashes etc..:-
http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l9...Great_Eastern/

Incidentally, Ammurican (and other) visitors to Canada are able to
reclaim their GST/HST payments, though whether the effort to track a
few pennies on postage would make sense... (!)

Not any more. The GST rebates ended in April 2007. Now there's a limited
rebate for tours and an arcane set of special cases for things like works
of art produced for export.

R's,
John

On 24-Jan-12 11:09, Neil Williams wrote:
On Jan 24, 4:53 pm, John Levine wrote:

I expect the Europeans question the sanity of a country with thousands
of different sales tax rates that vary by what you buy, where you buy
it, and even who you are, and that require that the clerk compute the tax
at the time of the sale.

It seems to me to be pointless to tax anything requiring a subsidy, as
that just creates a money-go-round, as it were. Thus, the German VAT
on domestic rail services seems stupid to me - all that does is create
administration where you could instead simply reduce the subsidy.

The "money-go-round" makes it more obvious what's being subsidized--and
by how much. Exempting something from taxation is an indirect subsidy,
i.e. one that doesn't show up on the books anywhere and is difficult to
quantify.

So, there is _some_ justification for doing things that way; whether it
is sufficient to overcome the additional paperwork (if any, since it
reduces paperwork in other areas) is probably a matter of opinion.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk "God does not play dice." --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723 "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking

On 24-Jan-12 17:19, Colin Youngs wrote:
"Miles Bader" schreef
: [I'm not sure if it's connected, but Japanese CCs are also _much_
: stingier about extending credit past the end of the month -- you
: _can't_ just decide to pay off your card bill a bit more slowly if you
: realize you're a bit skint this month

Same in Belgium. When I get my monthly credit card bill, I must pay the
outstanding amount on the card in full. Each new month must start with a
zero balance.

At least in US parlance, a "credit card" is linked to a "revolving"
credit account, i.e. you are not required to pay the full balance every
month. A "charge card" is linked to a credit account that is _not_
revolving.

For completeness, a "debit card" is one linked to a deposit account, and
a "payment card" is the generic form for any of the three types.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk "God does not play dice." --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723 "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking

On Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:19:31 +0100, "Colin Youngs"
wrote:
Same in Belgium. When I get my monthly credit card bill, I must
pay the
outstanding amount on the card in full. Each new month must start
with a
zero balance.

That to me is a charge card, not a credit card. An example of one of
those is AmEx.

Neil

--
Neil Williams, Milton Keynes, UK

In message , at 13:02:52
on Tue, 24 Jan 2012, remarked:
FWIW one doesn't get pay-to-use trolleys at Waitrose. You must shop at
some right chavvy places

Oddly enough, the first place I ever encountered them was at the
Waitrose in Wokingham! Although it was a Safeway at the time.

ASDA complained to me that they had been made to add coin ops to their
trolleys by the council. More likely so many were being taken off site that
it was the only way they could stop the council fining them for recovery.

The problem in Wokingham (iirc, it was the late 70's) was people leaving
their supermarket trolleys scattered round the nearby car park. In some
towns the council would allow there to be collection pens in the car
parks, and the store would go and round up the errant trolleys. This is
one of the ways that out-of-town supermarkets have an advantage because
it's their own car park and those pens are the default.
--
Roland Perry

On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:49:30 -0600, Stephen Sprunk put finger to keyboard
and typed:

On 24-Jan-12 17:19, Colin Youngs wrote:
"Miles Bader" schreef
: [I'm not sure if it's connected, but Japanese CCs are also _much_
: stingier about extending credit past the end of the month -- you
: _can't_ just decide to pay off your card bill a bit more slowly if you
: realize you're a bit skint this month

Same in Belgium. When I get my monthly credit card bill, I must pay the
outstanding amount on the card in full. Each new month must start with a
zero balance.

At least in US parlance, a "credit card" is linked to a "revolving"
credit account, i.e. you are not required to pay the full balance every
month. A "charge card" is linked to a credit account that is _not_
revolving.

For completeness, a "debit card" is one linked to a deposit account, and
a "payment card" is the generic form for any of the three types.

UK terminology is the same.

Mark
--
Blog: http://mark.goodge.co.uk
Stuff: http://www.good-stuff.co.uk

In message , at 20:35:42 on Tue, 24
Jan 2012, " remarked:
It is possible that you were looking at a fare quoted by a budget
airline. Many of them, as part of their sales gimmick, have in the past
advertised very low fares but have not always note all the taxes.

I've just looked up a ticket from Birmingham, UK to Germany on Lufthansa
(chosen because that's the most recent route I flew using my own money)
and while it's true there's a rule now about prices being shown as "all
inclusive"[1] the cheapest available fare in a month's time is over £400
return (and business class more like £1000).

So their advertising of "from £49" [each way] is what lures the customer
in. I don't think planning only one month ahead is an unrealistic
expectation, it's what I'd normally do if flying on business.

[1] in their own words 'including taxes, fees and charges'
--
Roland Perry

In message e.net, at
07:47:43 on Wed, 25 Jan 2012, Mark Goodge
remarked:
At least in US parlance, a "credit card" is linked to a "revolving"
credit account, i.e. you are not required to pay the full balance every
month. A "charge card" is linked to a credit account that is _not_
revolving.

For completeness, a "debit card" is one linked to a deposit account, and
a "payment card" is the generic form for any of the three types.

UK terminology is the same.

Although a "deposit account" is the UK term for a long term savings
account, and most people will only have a debit card linked to checking
(aka current) account.
--
Roland Perry