tax and sales laws?

[sharktacos]

Does anyone know what kind of legal requirement one needs to be able to sell stuff online? As far as I know (speaking as a sole proprietor) I only need to charge sales tax for people within my state (California) but not anywhere else in the world. Do I need to get a seller's license? I will be selling DVD's so I think that would be a "tangible good", Is that right? Anything else I'm missing?

[IanS]

The laws on sales tax are complex and vary from state to state and country to country. You will need to check with your tax authorities in Canada. If you are selling to EU citizens special arrangements are made - I'm not sure exactly what they are or if Canada is part of the arrangements but do know that tax liability is very complex.

To be on the safe side, check with your accountant if you have one, otherwise seek professional advice in your own country.

[sharktacos]

I realize that the advice on an online forum is not the same thing as that of an accountant, but I would still appreciate hearing what others who are in the same boat have to say, and what they have learned :)

As I said, I am going to be selling from California.

[stevel]

Contact the local Small Business Administration office or visit their website (www.sba.gov) - they can help you. http://www.business.gov/topics/business_laws/ also looks like a useful resource.

[rainbore]

For CA, you need a Seller's Permit from the State Board of Equalization in order to deal with the State Sales Tax. You'll also likely need a(n annual) business license from the city you live in. And if you're doing business using the name of a company (ie. Miracle Widgets, Joe's Super DVD's, etc.) you'll need to file a Ficticious Business Name Statement with the County Clerk (which will require publicizing it in a local newspaper for a few weeks as well. Your bank will require you to have filed one if you start accepting checks or other payments using this business name, too.). I think that's it, but it'd probably be a good idea to Google "starting a business site:ca.gov". I just did and it pulled up a promising list of sites to check out. Good luck!