Discussion British Columbians exempt from Washington Sales Tax starting July 1st

From the Washington State Department of Revenue

 

went down last weekend, not all stores are setup for this yet (even Costco!)

 

The tax exemption is in dispute because some people and the City of Bellingham are worried about lost tax revenue. Some stores are honouring it for now, but they sent an advisory to retailers that they may be liable for uncollected tax if the no tax thing falls through.

The whole decision to tax exempt BC and Ontario was because of our HST. So I guess it's one benefit of the HST. Washington has a law saying that if a province or state doesn't charge a sales tax, their own State tax doesn't apply to visitors from the aforementioned province or state. That's why Alberta, Oregon and the other HST provinces have been tax exempt for a long time. The thing is that many retailers are ill equipped to handle the tax exemption.

Oh, for any online shoppers who order from Amazon and other American retailers, you shouldn't be charged tax. If you have it shipped to Washington for pick up, then you have to prove that you're not using the item in Washington.

This is from Amazon:

 

Judge suspends sales-tax exemption for B.C. residents

 

GREAT! it'd be cool to save up an extra few percent! YAY~

 

Did you read the 2nd article? The exemption was suspended...

 

Does anyone know if Nordstrom's wil refund the tax for items shipped to Washington but ultimately destined for Canada?

 

Re Nordstrom question, I think not. I live in White Rock and go to the States almost everyweek. The beginning of July a number of retailers were giving the exemption, but of late not one retailer has. This includes Macy's, Costco, Target etc., Target and Macy's were, but now aren't. Let's hope this will eventually get passed as it more than compensates for any currency exchange.

BTW, always ask at Macy's for the International Discount Card, it gives you 10% off all purchases!

Kathy

 

The WA state tax exemption is being honoured by WalMart in Bellingham. You have to show your BC driver's license and they key it in, so note that you shouldn't stand in the self checkout lanes.