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America is often called the Land of Opportunity, so let’s take the opportunity to understand their tax system. Churchill famously said that Americans always try to do the right thing after they’ve tried everything else – and it could be argued that they are still experimenting when it comes to taxes, since they are one of very few nations in the world who have not adopted a VAT or GST regime.

When goods are imported into the USA, the thing to worry about is not sales tax, but customs duties. This is a tax imposed on goods when transported across international borders and in the US, this is governed federally by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). The simplest way to think about import duties is as the entrance fee you are being charged by the US government to allow your goods into their country.

Sales tax is not governed at the federal level, which means each state can do what they want in this regard. Currently, 46 states and the District of Columbia have decided to impose a sales tax legislation

A business is built on two pillars: product and distribution. If you have a great product that you want to sell online, you need to decide how you are going to sell it. The big decision is whether to start selling in the existing marketplace, or to invest in personalised online store development

If you have a great product that you want to sell online, you need to decide how you are going to sell it. The big decision is whether to start selling in the existing marketplace, or to invest in personalised online store development.

Most states created their sales tax laws in the olden days, before Amazon, crypto and the multiverse. In fact, most legislation was written before the internet existed and in some states, the latest law pre-dates the computer!

A sales tax holiday is a specified time period where products that would normally be taxable become exempt from sales tax. Almost 20 states offer sales tax holidays each year (the exact number of states actually depends on whether some states implement new holidays or allow existing holidays to expire).

Anyone who has been to the USA and enjoyed a little retail therapy in one of the local shops will know that the price you see is not always the price you pay. Unless you visited one of the handful of states that doesn’t impose sales tax, you would have experienced the $50 pair of jeans costing you more than $50, as sales tax is added at the till