The Oklahoma Tax Commission has auditors that travel about looking for garage sales, although many don’t comply. As I recall, you had to get a permit to hold a garage sale and then file a casual filer sales tax return.
It’s actually quite easy to be in compliance.
Oklahoma does, however, have an outstanding manufacturer’s exemption.
You’re going to find little quirks like this in any state. Out East they seem to have a penchant for real property transfer stamps. Nothing like a good old tax stamp.
As a matter of fact, what I *wish* people understood at the Tea Parties is how much they actually pay to the government in taxes, fess and surcharges.
People don’t know how much they pay because it’s nearly impossible to track annual sales tax, motor fuels tax, telecom taxes, other fees and surcharges, etc. I noted one fellows sign with a list of taxes. He had it right. The problem is that people don’t freak out about an increase in a DEAF surcharge on their phone bill. Why should they? Everybody wants to help the deaf, the blind, the lame, the poor and the . . . you get the idea.
Do you know how much you pay in USF surcharges on your phone bill? The USF surcharge is designed to be paid by your telecom provider, not you. The FCC allows them to pass it along as a “reimbursement.” I used to work for one of these telecom companies. They used to charge 5x the surcharge as the reimbursement to “offset the costs of compliance.” Let me tell you, the amounts they collected and the amounts the people in compliance were making in salaries were vastly different. Do you have any idea how much your employer pays of this nonsense?
The USF is total BS. It’s about paying for “high cost” areas so that they don’t have to pay too much to get phone service. I could build a network around the world and provide phone access for free with the amount collected from the USF. Oh yeah, it pays for internet access in libraries, schools, etc. They pay top dollar too.
I really don’t think people have half a clue as to what they are really paying in taxes. Throw away your 1040, because that’s just the beginning.