Non-resident Washington rifle purchase taxes?

[attila787]

I'm a Texas resident living in Washington for grad school. I ordered a rifle from West Coast Armory and did not get charged for taxes because I was an out of state resident.

I have ordered another rifle, but this time with Federal Way discount guns and I was charged taxes. What gives???? Who is right and who is wrong? Should I have been charged taxes?

 

[raftman]

From what I've heard (and I admit I could very well be mistaken/mis-remembering), if you're not a WA resident the seller isn't obligated to charge sales tax, but actually still can if they choose to. WA residents on the other hand are obligated to be charged a sales tax. Many retailers either on account of misinterpretation of the law or deliberate decision will not tax out-of-state people, and naturally there are also those will charge you a sales tax either way (again out of ignorance or deliberate decision).

I actually live one state to the south (in Oregon) within a few miles of the OR/WA state border, and know of people that will present their Oregon ID at Washington retail estalishments so as not to pay a sales tax on goods purchased while they're in Washington. Then again, many Washingtonians will head south to Oregon to shop because we don't have a sales tax at all, residents or not.