Why does Origin have to add sales tax to their purchases...?

[ScotchRobbins]

I almost bought the Mass Effect Trilogy today. I chose it over buying The Last of Us (I've hyped for that game for a very long time) to play it with my best friend (who has it too) because the trilogy sounded that good.

With $40 in gift cards, covering the $39.99 payment for the digital download was easy. But as it turns out, Origin charges sales tax.

So, yeah. I'm sticking with Steam.

[ccgr]

Depends on what state they have offices in, we get taxed on Steam

[Sstavix]

There are efforts - which vary from state to state - to enact legislation to force all online retailers to charge sales tax for purchases, with the exact tax varying from state to state.

Needless to say, most online businesses are opposed to this measure, partially because of what an accounting headache it would make. For example, let's say someone in Ohio orders a product from Amazon - which is based in Washington - and the nearest warehouse with the desired product is located in Tennessee. What sales tax do you use? And how does it get there? It's giving me a headache just trying to think about it, and I'm not even a businessperson....

So yeah, pay attention to what your local politicians are talking about in regards to this issue, and let your own opinion be known when you can.

[Pheonix]

All the Origin games I've bought have been through third-party sites, humblebundle, Amazon, etc. So yeah, no clue whether they apply tax or not. Honestly, I would rather pay through a third-party site for origin games regardless, generally it'll be cheaper either way.