It’s like lets say this individual lives in a state with no sales tax like Delaware (US) purchasing stuff from a seller living in Fukuoka (Japan), the value of this item is ¥30,000 ($189.50) while the same being sold in America is jacked up in price at around $349.99 MSRP retail. However, they’re hit with a notification their package is being held due to tariffs waiting to be paid before it can be delivered (even in a state with 0% sales tax).
Because those are two unrelated taxes.
Both the Federal government and State government can tax you.
…and the county and the city.
… and your family.
States don’t control federal taxation. The state choosing not to levy a sales tax doesn’t mean no one else is allowed to.
Well, tariffs and other such import fees aren’t a tax on the sale of an item. They’re a tax on shipping a package in from overseas. Not actually the same thing.
Same reason people who live in states without an income tax still have to pay the IRS.
Different taxing entities all want their money.
The simplest answer to this why question is that them’s the rules.
A tariff is also different from a sales tax. One doesn’t preclude the other. I’m sure there are places in the US where you would end up paying both. The tariffs are a federal instrument of regulating cross border trade. Sales tax or the lack thereof is a state decision.
