Are you and the seller in the same State? if so that could be the reason.

Thanks for responses

Sellers do not have to have a brick and mortar store to have to legally charge state sales taxes.

They have to have a legal business which can be internet only.

Never rely on eBay nor emails for accurate payment information. Login to PayPal!

Sorry to piggy back on this topic, I have also a tax related question.

Things I know.  As a seller when you list an item you have specify in which state you are going to charge tax.  It is not in your face visible, you have to go the shipping details to find out if the seller charges taxes for your location. buyer beware when you bid.

And PayPal will charge taxes if requested by the seller.

My question is for the people that charge taxes. Who is supposed to do the reporting at the end of the year ? is Paypal that is doing the reporting as they are collecting taxes on behalf of the seller, or is it the seller that has to do it ?

I am asking this because I have seen some sellers charging taxes only on some item in some state.

If a seller charges sales tax, it's in the listing under payment and checkout details. It shouldn't be a big surprise.

all sellers are required by state laws to collect and remit all sales taxes collected in states they do business ,Reguardless if they have a store or not in that state.. I myself have Ohio,New Jersey,Pa and West Virginia tax licenses, Because I do physical business in those states.. Let me clarify you have to live in those 4 states for me to collect... Some states like NJ and Pa do not charge tax on clothing food and other items,, So, that's why some items are not taxable. 

  If it was a gift card you can work around it by using a credit card  payment to paypal from a friend in another  state and shipping to that state .. But thats more work than its worth for a few $$$$   (It also does not matter if items used or not. It is still taxable if resold to make a profit in most states. Been there done that so dont argue that issue with me,argue with the states )

I really do not see why someone mentioned they'd have to pre pay tax on a Red Lobster Gift Card?   You would also be charged sales tax again when you used it..Thus being double taxed?  That one I would look into very closely.. Plus some states do not charge  tax on food? or anything ?

http://www.sba.gov/content/collecting-sales-tax-over-internet

This link might help explain it best. But basically it means, that if the business has an actual "physical" building, they have to charge sales tax for the state/county the building physically exists in.

So those business that are totally internet based and have no acutal physical store front can get away without charging the sales tax.

Great for the customer, but not so great if your the person that has a physcial store front and looses the sale because of the sales tax.

Personally I dont' mind the sales tax. I would rather pay that then have taxes taken out of my pay. Then I would only pay taxes on what I deem is absolutely necessary for me to have and if I dont' want to pay the tax on the item then I don't get it, Maybe thats the way it should be then higher priced items get taxed more. I mean hey, if the government says when I buy a new car next time it has to have a back up beeper, (who cares if it costs me more, right), so you might as well make the taxes on that higher (cause I'm not sure I'm going to pay a few thou extra for something I didn't want, and we all know its going to cost the customer that), and make the taxes in my paycheck go away.

Everyone keeps forgetting that this country is in trouble, the government spends money it doesn't have, bails out banks and car companies, give the rich tax breaks and taxes the rest of us more. If everyone paid what they owed, including everyone paid sales tax regardless, maybe we wouldn't be in this much trouble. But everyone wants to "get away" with not paying this and not paying that. Every little bit makes a difference. Whats the sales tax on a Hummer or a jet?! I know I'll never buy one, but you can bet the ones that do have figured out a way not to pay sales tax and anything else they can get away with, yet they can afford to pay it.