Not sure how familiar all of you are with collecting sales tax on your sites, but thought I'd share a little information with you about how sales tax collection is changing. Typically, sales tax has been collected on delivered goods (think 'all e-commerce' sales) via an origin-based system, meaning that sales tax is charged on the delivered goods based on where the item is shipped from, ie YOUR place of business.

So what is changing? Roughly half of the states, though the Streamlined Sales Tax Project, are implementing, or have implemented a destination-based sales tax system, in which sales tax is collected based on where the goods are shipped TO, ie, the buyer's residence/place of business.

What does this mean? It means that depending upon the state and the way it allocates its sales tax boundaries, different tax rates may apply for different areas of the state. For example, in Washington State, there are roughly 1.4 million different boundary areas for which different tax rates will apply.

There are a few important things to note: the destination-based sales tax system only applies to intrastate deliveries, ie the buyer and seller reside in the same state. As you may do now, you are not required to collect sales tax on out-of-state purchases. The states participating in this project have as yet been unable to convince the Supreme Court that the burden of tax collection in this manner for out-of-state purchases is not burdensome, but are using the SSTP as a way to show the courts that sales tax for delivered purchases is feasible, and will not drive small/medium sized businesses out of the market because of taxation requirements. Keep in mind, however, that the states participating in this project are 'encouraging' out-of-state' sellers to collect and remit sales tax to the appropriate state jurisdiction.

A great government site explaining destination-based sales tax is here:
Destination Tax Info

View all the states currently participating in the project, with links to them and their requirements. You can also feel free to PM me if you have other questions, as I am currently involved in implementing a solution for my own site.

Here in Florida, it has always been that way. I only charge sales tax to orders delivered in Florida. When I first read your message, I thought you were saying they were making us pay sales tax to out of state deliveries too - something that has been discussed many times, but so far at least, no one has figured out a practical way of doing it. I hope they never do cuz it would be a dang nightmare to keep straight!

Not forgetting that every country has different tax criteria, so what may apply for you, won't necessarily apply for other people.