Can you charge tax on items purchased over the phone?

Question

I purchased a apple care plan over the phone from apple and they charged dc sales tax when i got the bill. Other companies i've ordered stuff phone over the phone didnt charge tax

Apple has no office or stores in dc

Answer 1

If Apple has a business presence in DC, they must charge sales tax on sales to DC residents.

A business presence can be a warehouse or other shipping point, a repair depot, call center, etc., many of which may not show up in the phone book.

Answer 2

Sales tax has nothing to do with how you purchase the item (phone, internet, etc).

A company must charge sales tax if they operate and conduct business in the state you're located. So, if they have an office in your state, yes, they can and should charge tax.

Answer 3

They not only can, they are required to, if they have any kind of facility in your area.

That's why you can buy a book from barnesandnoble.com and be charged sales tax (they have stores pretty much everywhere) but can buy the same book from amazon.com and in many places not pay sales tax (they only have facilities like warehouses in a few places).