We Got a Letter from the State of WI Asking Us to Pay Use Tax for past 5 Years.

This sounds very much like a scam. I would contact your state attorney general's office to inquire about this. I have never heard of any state trying to do this - it would be totally unenforceable. If they go after sales tax, they would go after the seller, who was supposed to be collecting it at the time of purchase. Please be very careful with this. It sounds like a total scam.

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I have a friend who works for a well known mail order company and yes when Wisconites go clothing shopping in Minnesota (no sales tax on clothing in MN) we are supposed to claim that on our Wisconsin State Tax Return. Any online purchases are also to be reported. For instance I have a friend who orders smokes online and he is supposed to report that purchase on his tax return every year and pay the tax on the cigs. I don't know if he does or doesn't.

You need a tax attorney.

THIS IS NOT A HOAX OR A SCAM--THIS IS NOT A HOAX OR A SCAM

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This is when you need your trusted legal and tax attorney. Hopefully you have one. They can guide you through this.

When you run a business you need a good network of professionals to help you. There are lots of rules here and there that the average business owner is unaware of.

I have all records and receipts of our purchases . We are on the manufacturing end of business and it is critical to be on top of everything.

Best wishes to you

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No, this is not a scam. MANY states are now looking to enforce their use tax laws. Illinois just recently added a use tax and catalog/online tax. I was REALLLLLLLY annoyed when they did it, because they passed the law at the very end of 2010, so I hadn't been keeping any records of my purchases, but I had to TRY to come up with a number for my 2010 taxes. It was annoying and frustrating, but I did just estimate and am crossing my fingers and hoping they don't ask for proof.

I agree with ReverendRuby--best to speak with a tax attorney.

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I agree with Rachel M. You might want to google some of the text of the letter to see what you get as you might get some more info before business hours tomorrow.

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WHAT!?!

Time to make some phone calls to the tax office in WI.

If this is true it sounds so very much like they are in cahoots with NC. NC charged my son for 4 years of back income tax. Seriously?? He was 17 through 21 and in the Navy.

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Typically when you buy online it taxes you according to the state you live in...I believe this is more towards larger purchase...cars, boats, etc. I think it is funny just in that Wisc has such a low tax rate...why would we want to pay out of state tax...

Let me add. When we bought a used car in Mn, the dealer did not tax us...we had to pay taxes when we registered it...sometimes people don't pay when they register. Just an example

I think IL wants us to declare on our tax returns what we have bought on the internet and pay them sales tax. Anyone else heard about this?

I would have no idea how to do this. I am assuming all residents of the state have to do this????

Then anyone who orders online or buys something off ebay has to pay state taxes on it? That's crazy! How can they even begin to police this. It would be there word against yours that you bought it one place verses a garage sale at the neighbors...I can't even begin to imagine how this law is supposed to be effective. Good luck with this one, I am interested in finding out how this works out, the specifics too.

i would go to a place like h & r block or liberty tax and ask what they know of this. if anyone they would know. i wouldn't send anyone money. taxes are only done twice in my opinion when you buy the item or when i file my taxes. if they didnt ask for it then i wouldnt give it to them.

this is not a scam...i work for a company that sells products at wholesale for catalogs and internet site to retail and we are having to comply with new WI laws as well. if this is not completed properly for the 2010 year you will be audited and charged interest in any owed money

I may be a bad person but I ignore such things
my tax program had asked me for this number last year and I just left it blank, they can audit Amazon if they really want to, but I am not paying taxes on those purchases until it is really universally passed nationally

Last year when we had our taxes done our accountant told us about the new tax. He said even if we ate a hamburger in another state we were expected to pay IL tax and the tax from the other state. He said if we didn't claim anything they could audit our personal accounts. My husband has been unemployed since May 6 without unemployment. I work a small amount of hours at a library since Nov. I have no idea where they think we are can pay all of the taxes..... (Property, etc.

I know it sucks but I don't think it is a scam. Based on how States are fighting with siteslike Amazon about.charging sales tax, I bet this is there way of recouping those funds. And I am sure it is a lot easier to come after small businesses than individuals (I know, we own a small business as well). Luckily, you can go back and review your.purchase history on Amazon. Not sure exactly how far they go, but that would be a good starting point. And for the future, my husband and I decided to use Quicken so we can categorize purchases and make notes on the exact items so at tax.time, the info was already sorted. Best of luck to you!

I agree with the others. There's something way strange going on here. Don't do anything until you make enough phone calls to make sure you know what is going on.

We just got a letter a little bit ago saying we owed 10,000+ in taxes for 2010 (which would be the year my husband had open heart surgery and spent half the year in recovery!) When I went and compared their info with ours...I noticed they had moved the decimal point over two places for our income from one source. Seriously, if that company would like to pay us that much...I would have no problem giving 10,000 to the IRS....geesh. I still have to write a letter and send copies of supporting documents...etc. :p Not excited.