Tax Commission: Idahoans Already Owe Internet Tax

A planned Internet sales tax bill may not have made it through the legislature, but the Idaho State Tax Commission says people already owe taxes on Internet buys and most people aren’t paying up.

The commission said anyone who buys online is required to pay the use tax.

It is the same percentage as the sales tax, but although stores collect sales tax, the consumer is in charge of making sure the use tax gets paid.

Of course, hardly anyone has any idea they’re supposed to

“A lot of people don’t know about it. They don’t think about it,? ISTC Pocatello Manager Darrell Wilde said.

The ISTC said people should pay when they file their income tax or fill out a worksheet off the tax commission website.

Jeremy Vest runs the web store for Barrie’s Ski and Sports in Pocatello, he said a lack of tax is one of the biggest reasons people shop online.

“Most people, when they go online, that’s what they’re looking for, that advantage of not having to pay tax in their home state,? Vest said.

The tax commission said getting people to start paying the tax would be a big help to state revenue.

“We’re talking billions of dollars of sales over the Internet nationwide, so certainly it would have an impact,? Wilde said.

But getting people to pay is easier said than done.

Most people have no idea what it is, and even if they did, enforcement is pretty unlikely.

“I’ve never heard of someone getting in trouble for it. Really the state has never said anything about it,? Vest said.

But Wilde hopes peoples’ own sense of right and wrong, is what will get them to pay the required tax, not a fear of punishment.

“Honest people will pay the tax. Obviously, I think that’s true, I pay the use tax myself on my own income tax return,? Wilde said.