USA Today article: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-06-19-mexico-sales-tax_N.htm I wonder how the administration of this will turn out.
The short answer is never. The long answer is unlike Europe and Mexico, taxes in the United States are levied by hundreds of different entities, i.e. state, city and federal agencies. It would be impossible to coordinate all the different records. The VAT or IVA model is a tax levied by a single agency and therefore the accounting is much simpler.
Florida does it all the time Jen. I think it is called Tax Free Days, usually at back to school time. Everything does not qualify but many things do. You are simply not charged the sales tax at the time of purchase. No going to the airport, filling out forms, getting part of your refund, and waiting for the rest. Mix - how could it get much simpler than not paying it in the first place?
Wow....Wow.... who is right? :lol: M. and I are in the same boat. So for me, it is never.... I am not interested in back-to-school stuff, and I am going in a few weeks for my electronics etc.... It is just for a few days? :roll: But back-to-school is not really for tourists. Canada does (or did) it. It shouldn't be so complicated, but they no doubt consider they have enough tourists willing to pay.
So I guess I'll have to coordinate my trips back to the US to coincide with Florida's Tax Free Days . I guess I agree with you (and Wesley Snipes) that you just shouldn't pay taxes at all. Now if they could only figure out how to maintain the country without them or I could figure out how to do it without going to jail. Having suvived an intense and totally unjustified IRS audit, I don't think I'll be going down that particular road.
Jen, pay attention. Knowing you, I am pretty sure that you don't need any "back-to-school stuff" although certain school supplies are part of the deal. Most people use this period for buying clothing and books. But you might need some pens or something. And "not for tourists." Again puzzling. Back to school time is in the summer, which happens to be tourist season extraordinaire in Florida. And yes, it is only for a few days, maybe 2 weeks. A state government, as Mix more or less says, needs revenue to operate (and waste) so it cannot be year around.
