Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Welcome! We hope that you enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in or create an account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribe purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Thank you for signing in! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Checking back? Since you viewed this item previously you can read it again.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code.
Promotional Rates were found for your code.
Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable..
Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.
Alderman Tom DePoy says he wants to know where his tax dollars are going, mostly because he is concerned there are some he should not be paying.
DePoy said he recently discovered an online vendor had been incorrectly charging him a local sale tax. The City of Rutland does not have a local option sales tax but shares a ZIP code with Rutland Town, which does.
DePoy said the vendor was unable to distinguish between the two.
The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Monday to refer the issue to the Finance Committee and the Intermunicipal Committee to find out where the money was going, and to answer other questions raised by the situation. The Intermunicipal Committee is made up of representatives of the city and town.
A call to Rutland Town Treasurer Kari Clark was not immediately returned on Thursday.
DePoy, who owns a cleaning business, said he was ordering vacuum cleaner parts when he was told there was a 1% local sales tax. He said he disputed this with the company, but was told their software indicated Rutland had a local tax.
“I said, I know we do not because I’m on the city council,” he said.
DePoy said he looked at other invoices and found the company had charged him the extra 1% going back a year. He said it only came to “tens of dollars,” but the tax made him wonder how many other companies might be incorrectly taxing city residents.
“I have a lot of questions on this,” he said. “My first question is: Where’s that money going?”
DePoy also noted that the board recently considered levying its own local sales tax, and would want to ensure it actually got the money if it did.
“Rutland Town’s going to be asking the same question, if they’re smart,” he said. “There’s a can of worms here that’s already opened, and I think we need to investigate some how.”
City Attorney Matthew Bloomer noted that wherever the money is going, the city is not going to get it.
“It’s not ours, either,” he said.
DePoy identified the vendor as SharkNinja, a home appliance company based in Needham, Massachusetts. SharkNinja did not respond to an inquiry from the Herald.
Vermont Deputy Tax Commissioner Rebecca Sameroff said the two Rutlands are not the only distinct municipalities in Vermont to share a ZIP code, so situations like DePoy’s are a known phenomenon. She said she did not have exact numbers on how often it happens, but she offered an estimate of about half a dozen times a year.
“I don’t believe that’s tracked in any way through taxpayer services, but it is not an unknown situation,” she said. “The department reaches out directly to the vendor to correct the error and point them to the resources we have.”
Sameroff said there are a number of third-party businesses that help online retailers identify who needs to be paying sales tax. She also said the state partners with a group called the Streamlined Sales Tax Alliance aimed at reducing confusion about sales taxes.
“We send them a boundary file that they make available to e-commerce vendors or third-party vendors,” she said.
Sameroff said consumers can file for a direct refund from the department if they’ve been improperly charged a local sales tax. The request has to be made within three years of the payment and include documentation.
She said she did not immediately have data on how much sales tax revenue comes to the state through online commerce.
“We don’t have a perfect or even that reliable data because we don’t have great ways to identify e-commerce vendors on the sales tax return,” she said, adding that changes to the department’s procedures that would capture that information would have to originate in the Legislature. “I assume that’s an area where we will see increasing interest.”
The situation also would be of note to local businesses.
Lyle Jepson, executive director of Chamber and Economic Development of the Rutland Region, said he did not have a handle on how much local retailers were relying on online sales to out-of-state customers, but acknowledged it was becoming a bigger part of the business landscape.
“It certainly is something that needs to be on our radar,” he said. “So much commerce is taking place on the web that there needs to be clear safeguards in place.”
Gordon has been a reporter for the Rutland Herald for nearly 20 years. A Castleton State College graduate, he's covered beats from the West county to the city, cops and courts and everything in between.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
What is a 1% Surcharge when tacked on Residential Heating Bill?
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.