—Can we talk about the reaction to a 16% total sales tax instead?—
Frankly, I’m willing to throw in any number. In Oregon it would be 9% total. In Washington it would be about 19%.
The point I was trying to make was simply that the more money that is involved, the more incentive people have to go around it. My uncle completely remodeled his entire home in eastern Washington and when he needed everything from furniture to water heater, washer, dryer, fridge - everything, he took a large trailer down to Oregon and bought everything there. He saved many hundreds of dollars in tax alone. Would I go to Oregon to save $50 in tax? No. But if I was going there anyway, or if I could add up a lot of purchases, yep. Assuming I lived in CA or WA.
The author (and I) is merely saying that it really will increase black and gray market activity. It’s what people do.
BTW, my uncle did this over 20 years ago.
The point I was trying to make was simply that the more money that is involved, the more incentive people have to go around it.