• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Costco charging tax on pre-sale amounts

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

c627627

c(n*199780) Senior Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2002
A tech item was on sale at a local Costco for $50 down from $60 so I bought a couple of of them. I noticed they correctly charged me $100 but added tax as if I paid $120.

So I inquired as to wtf.


They said it's Kansas State Law that tax be charged on the original pre-sale amount. So, wait wut!? So if a $1000 item is on sale for $500, then you end up paying tax on a cool grand?!? That would not be chump change. Two managers confirmed this.


 
Last edited:
That really is pitiful. I am willing to pay my fair share of taxes but this is just ludicrous. Now people have to pay taxes on hypothetical prices?
 
Just now I was crusing Costco's website dreaming about buying a 70" LCD and I was reading the description and ran accross this....

Limited Time Offer:
Valid for orders placed February 17, 2012 through March 10, 2012. While supplies last.

Online price $2,999.99
**Less -$500.00
YOUR COST $2,499.99

**The $500 manufacturer’s discount will automatically be deducted at checkout. State law may require sales tax to be charged on the pre-discounted price if the product is subject to sales tax.

This is in Washington state, so it looks like it is a state law that many states have started to use. I do not remember ever voting on anything like this. Maan what a bunch of crooks.
 
Yup thanks for sharing that, I guess the only thing we can do before comparing prices is to is always remember to check the out of pocket cost and ignore the posted cost.
 
is one reason i just moved back to oklahoma, kansas AKA the land of taxes :D a tag for my truck cost 1/4 of what it did there just for an example :p
 
Heh, try living in california, here they expect us to claim all untaxed online purchases when we file taxes, so that they can charge us sales tax on all of it. Broken system is broken...
 
Looks like more would flock to Amazon to avoid paying taxes.

Only a matter of time before this ends as well unfortunately :(

I have no issues paying taxes but what they do these days is absolutely absurd. Charging tax on MSRP pricing? Come on..... Prices fluctuate and the market changes. Products get old and go out of date to go on sale, how the hell can you charge full tax on an out of date item :(
 
I can imagine this: you find an 80MB hard drive sitting around to fix up your first computer, and Uncle Sam comes knocking and shows you a bill for almost $50 in unpaid tax because the 80MB hard drive had the original MSRP of around $750 (yes, they were that expensive in early 90's)

If that really happens to me, Canada is 2 hours drive away and I'm sure they got a few vaccant houses for sale that I could move in. :D
 
How do you think I feel? My wife finished school in 2010 and 2011 was her first full year of working at a Registered Nurse. With both our incomes combined, we got bounced into a new tax bracket.

Well, even after our deductions, our effective tax rate is 15% the same as Mitt Romney who is a multi-millionaire. Not sure how this tax thing seems to work, but being middle class is a joke. Get taxed as much as the rich, but dont get the same deductions as lower class, you just get screwed for working your *** off :(
 
I can imagine this: you find an 80MB hard drive sitting around to fix up your first computer, and Uncle Sam comes knocking and shows you a bill for almost $50 in unpaid tax because the 80MB hard drive had the original MSRP of around $750 (yes, they were that expensive in early 90's)

If that really happens to me, Canada is 2 hours drive away and I'm sure they got a few vaccant houses for sale that I could move in. :D

Under consideration...

Only problem for me: It's too cold there. I don't care about the summer. I would die in the winter. I nearly freeze to death at temps under 70F, but I'm good up to 110F in the summer. :D
 
Under consideration...

Only problem for me: It's too cold there. I don't care about the summer. I would die in the winter. I nearly freeze to death at temps under 70F, but I'm good up to 110F in the summer. :D

Too hot for me. :D Here in Michigan it is not unusual to see someone wearing nothing above waist while it's only 40F outside. I do the same thing when I make a short 50 feet trek to fetch my mail with just PJ bottom on (yes, even when there's still snow on the ground). Canada shouldn't be a problem for me.

It's a shame Mexico plus most of central America and northern part of South America are too violent right now or you could consider going there instead of Canada for warmer climate.
 
Too hot for me. :D Here in Michigan it is not unusual to see someone wearing nothing above waist while it's only 40F outside. I do the same thing when I make a short 50 feet trek to fetch my mail with just PJ bottom on (yes, even when there's still snow on the ground). Canada shouldn't be a problem for me.

It's a shame Mexico plus most of central America and northern part of South America are too violent right now or you could consider going there instead of Canada for warmer climate.

-40'c is commonplace up here :D

TBH I love it :santa:

However this winter has been quite kind...

@Alda:

You would probably like somewhere like Vancouver a lot better, temps rarely below -10'c and mostly rain as precipitation.

lol as far as I'm concerned we consider that the Bahamas :cool:
 
Yeah canada is looking better and better
Nice how they snuck this one in on everyone huh? Land of the free my ***... How can that even be constitutional? It's like double taxation which is being done left and right anyway if you look around..
I live in one of the only tax free states, we also have the lowest unemployment rate btw last I checked.

I really hope they leave us alone.. between the economy, the state of this countries health care and all these little freedoms being taken away everytime we turn around, I'm not to far away from canada either...
 
How do you think I feel? My wife finished school in 2010 and 2011 was her first full year of working at a Registered Nurse. With both our incomes combined, we got bounced into a new tax bracket.

Well, even after our deductions, our effective tax rate is 15% the same as Mitt Romney who is a multi-millionaire. Not sure how this tax thing seems to work, but being middle class is a joke. Get taxed as much as the rich, but dont get the same deductions as lower class, you just get screwed for working your *** off :(

OMG I would KILL to have an effective tax rate of 15%. Seriously... I would.
 
I just checked - I'll be starting a job next month. After tax, national insurance, student loan repayments, my effective tax rate is 28.6%. My better half earns a bit more than me, so her effective rat is 29.5%. Plus she has to pay council tax out of that (£1500/year IIRC).
 
Back