The only site I'll ever need...

[J. Walter Weatherman]

The use tax has been on the books since 1955, but other than certain large purchases (cars mostly) no one ever tried to collect it.  Now that IL (and a bunch of other states CF and NY of note) are broke, and people are buying more and more through the tubes, they are trying to collect it.

You may find the following advice useful (its from my accountant):

For Illinois residents who did not make any significant purchases in 2010 and are unable to determine the total amount of purchases on which you did not pay Sales Tax, IL has provided a table that will estimate the Use Tax due based upon the amount of your income – it is calculated by multiplying your Adjusted Gross Income by .06 percent (or approximately $60 in Use Tax for every $100,000 of income)....  

So if you put down $60 for every $100,000 of income, my guess is that the nice state will leave you alone.  

I mentioned that estimated use tax table in my post above...

https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/ifile/useTaxHelp.html#UTTable

AGI (from IL-1040, Line 1)      Use Tax
$0 - $10,000                    $3  
$10,001 - $20,000               $9  
$20,001 - $30,000               $15      
$30,001 - $40,000               $21      
$40,001 - $50,000               $27      
$50,001 - $75,000               $38      
$75,001 - $100,000              $52      
Above $100,000                  Multiply AGI by 0.06% (0.0006)

And it appears that this is the same solution other states have pursued.

My question was: how they can possibly collect anything beyond voluntarily compliance?

[R-V]

The use tax has been on the books since 1955, but other than certain large purchases (cars mostly) no one ever tried to collect it.  Now that IL (and a bunch of other states CF and NY of note) are broke, and people are buying more and more through the tubes, they are trying to collect it.

You may find the following advice useful (its from my accountant):

For Illinois residents who did not make any significant purchases in 2010 and are unable to determine the total amount of purchases on which you did not pay Sales Tax, IL has provided a table that will estimate the Use Tax due based upon the amount of your income – it is calculated by multiplying your Adjusted Gross Income by .06 percent (or approximately $60 in Use Tax for every $100,000 of income)....  

So if you put down $60 for every $100,000 of income, my guess is that the nice state will leave you alone.  

I mentioned that estimated use tax table in my post above...

https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/ifile/useTaxHelp.html#UTTable

AGI (from IL-1040, Line 1)      Use Tax
$0 - $10,000                    $3  
$10,001 - $20,000               $9  
$20,001 - $30,000               $15      
$30,001 - $40,000               $21      
$40,001 - $50,000               $27      
$50,001 - $75,000               $38      
$75,001 - $100,000              $52      
Above $100,000                  Multiply AGI by 0.06% (0.0006)

And it appears that this is the same solution other states have pursued.

My question was: how they can possibly collect anything beyond voluntarily compliance?

If you ever get audited, they could just look at your Amazon purchase history.

Realistically, it'll never hai, but it could.

[Brownie]

The use tax has been on the books since 1955, but other than certain large purchases (cars mostly) no one ever tried to collect it.  Now that IL (and a bunch of other states CF and NY of note) are broke, and people are buying more and more through the tubes, they are trying to collect it.

You may find the following advice useful (its from my accountant):

For Illinois residents who did not make any significant purchases in 2010 and are unable to determine the total amount of purchases on which you did not pay Sales Tax, IL has provided a table that will estimate the Use Tax due based upon the amount of your income – it is calculated by multiplying your Adjusted Gross Income by .06 percent (or approximately $60 in Use Tax for every $100,000 of income).... 

So if you put down $60 for every $100,000 of income, my guess is that the nice state will leave you alone. 

I mentioned that estimated use tax table in my post above...

https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/ifile/useTaxHelp.html#UTTable

AGI (from IL-1040, Line 1)      Use Tax
$0 - $10,000                    $3   
$10,001 - $20,000               $9   
$20,001 - $30,000               $15     
$30,001 - $40,000               $21     
$40,001 - $50,000               $27     
$50,001 - $75,000               $38     
$75,001 - $100,000              $52     
Above $100,000                  Multiply AGI by 0.06% (0.0006)

And it appears that this is the same solution other states have pursued.

My question was: how they can possibly collect anything beyond voluntarily compliance?

If you ever get audited, they could just look at your Amazon purchase history.

Realistically, it'll never hai, but it could.

Befriend someone in Indiana and have all your Amazon purchases sent there. Go visit him or her and pick up your loot.

[CT III]

The use tax has been on the books since 1955, but other than certain large purchases (cars mostly) no one ever tried to collect it.  Now that IL (and a bunch of other states CF and NY of note) are broke, and people are buying more and more through the tubes, they are trying to collect it.

You may find the following advice useful (its from my accountant):

For Illinois residents who did not make any significant purchases in 2010 and are unable to determine the total amount of purchases on which you did not pay Sales Tax, IL has provided a table that will estimate the Use Tax due based upon the amount of your income – it is calculated by multiplying your Adjusted Gross Income by .06 percent (or approximately $60 in Use Tax for every $100,000 of income)....  

So if you put down $60 for every $100,000 of income, my guess is that the nice state will leave you alone.  

I mentioned that estimated use tax table in my post above...

https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/ifile/useTaxHelp.html#UTTable

AGI (from IL-1040, Line 1)      Use Tax
$0 - $10,000                    $3  
$10,001 - $20,000               $9  
$20,001 - $30,000               $15      
$30,001 - $40,000               $21      
$40,001 - $50,000               $27      
$50,001 - $75,000               $38      
$75,001 - $100,000              $52      
Above $100,000                  Multiply AGI by 0.06% (0.0006)

And it appears that this is the same solution other states have pursued.

My question was: how they can possibly collect anything beyond voluntarily compliance?

If you ever get audited, they could just look at your Amazon purchase history.

Realistically, it'll never hai, but it could.

Befriend someone in Indiana and have all your Amazon purchases sent there. Go visit him or her and pick up your loot.

I'd rather pay the estimate than suffer the indignity of being friends with someone who lives in Indiana.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

The use tax has been on the books since 1955, but other than certain large purchases (cars mostly) no one ever tried to collect it.  Now that IL (and a bunch of other states CF and NY of note) are broke, and people are buying more and more through the tubes, they are trying to collect it.

You may find the following advice useful (its from my accountant):

For Illinois residents who did not make any significant purchases in 2010 and are unable to determine the total amount of purchases on which you did not pay Sales Tax, IL has provided a table that will estimate the Use Tax due based upon the amount of your income – it is calculated by multiplying your Adjusted Gross Income by .06 percent (or approximately $60 in Use Tax for every $100,000 of income)....  

So if you put down $60 for every $100,000 of income, my guess is that the nice state will leave you alone.  

I mentioned that estimated use tax table in my post above...

https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/ifile/useTaxHelp.html#UTTable

AGI (from IL-1040, Line 1)      Use Tax
$0 - $10,000                    $3  
$10,001 - $20,000               $9  
$20,001 - $30,000               $15      
$30,001 - $40,000               $21      
$40,001 - $50,000               $27      
$50,001 - $75,000               $38      
$75,001 - $100,000              $52      
Above $100,000                  Multiply AGI by 0.06% (0.0006)

And it appears that this is the same solution other states have pursued.

My question was: how they can possibly collect anything beyond voluntarily compliance?

If you ever get audited, they could just look at your Amazon purchase history.

Realistically, it'll never hai, but it could.

Befriend someone in Indiana and have all your Amazon purchases sent there. Go visit him or her and pick up your loot.

I'd rather pay the estimate than suffer the indignity of being friends with someone who lives in Indiana.

Let alone have to visit them.

[Internet Apex]

The use tax has been on the books since 1955, but other than certain large purchases (cars mostly) no one ever tried to collect it.  Now that IL (and a bunch of other states CF and NY of note) are broke, and people are buying more and more through the tubes, they are trying to collect it.

You may find the following advice useful (its from my accountant):

For Illinois residents who did not make any significant purchases in 2010 and are unable to determine the total amount of purchases on which you did not pay Sales Tax, IL has provided a table that will estimate the Use Tax due based upon the amount of your income – it is calculated by multiplying your Adjusted Gross Income by .06 percent (or approximately $60 in Use Tax for every $100,000 of income)....  

So if you put down $60 for every $100,000 of income, my guess is that the nice state will leave you alone.  

I mentioned that estimated use tax table in my post above...

https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/ifile/useTaxHelp.html#UTTable

AGI (from IL-1040, Line 1)      Use Tax
$0 - $10,000                    $3  
$10,001 - $20,000               $9  
$20,001 - $30,000               $15      
$30,001 - $40,000               $21      
$40,001 - $50,000               $27      
$50,001 - $75,000               $38      
$75,001 - $100,000              $52      
Above $100,000                  Multiply AGI by 0.06% (0.0006)

And it appears that this is the same solution other states have pursued.

My question was: how they can possibly collect anything beyond voluntarily compliance?

If you ever get audited, they could just look at your Amazon purchase history.

Realistically, it'll never hai, but it could.

Befriend someone in Indiana and have all your Amazon purchases sent there. Go visit him or her and pick up your loot.

I'd rather pay the estimate than suffer the indignity of being friends with someone who lives in Indiana.

Let alone have to visit them.

I have to do all of the above. FML

[Wheezer]

The use tax has been on the books since 1955, but other than certain large purchases (cars mostly) no one ever tried to collect it.  Now that IL (and a bunch of other states CF and NY of note) are broke, and people are buying more and more through the tubes, they are trying to collect it.

You may find the following advice useful (its from my accountant):

For Illinois residents who did not make any significant purchases in 2010 and are unable to determine the total amount of purchases on which you did not pay Sales Tax, IL has provided a table that will estimate the Use Tax due based upon the amount of your income – it is calculated by multiplying your Adjusted Gross Income by .06 percent (or approximately $60 in Use Tax for every $100,000 of income)....  

So if you put down $60 for every $100,000 of income, my guess is that the nice state will leave you alone.  

I mentioned that estimated use tax table in my post above...

https://www.revenue.state.il.us/app/ifile/useTaxHelp.html#UTTable

AGI (from IL-1040, Line 1)      Use Tax
$0 - $10,000                    $3  
$10,001 - $20,000               $9  
$20,001 - $30,000               $15      
$30,001 - $40,000               $21      
$40,001 - $50,000               $27      
$50,001 - $75,000               $38      
$75,001 - $100,000              $52      
Above $100,000                  Multiply AGI by 0.06% (0.0006)

And it appears that this is the same solution other states have pursued.

My question was: how they can possibly collect anything beyond voluntarily compliance?

If you ever get audited, they could just look at your Amazon purchase history.

Realistically, it'll never hai, but it could.

Befriend someone in Indiana and have all your Amazon purchases sent there. Go visit him or her and pick up your loot.

I'd rather pay the estimate than suffer the indignity of being friends with someone who lives in Indiana.

Let alone have to visit them.

I have to do all of the above. FML

I actually did go so far as to have this now-ancient PowerBook delivered to Oregon and shipped back to both capture the academic discount and avoid sales tax.

[SKO]

I appear to have gotten some kind of malware or virus called defender.exe. I've managed to stop it by calling up the task manager as soon as the computer starts up and racing to cancel the process before it starts up (otherwise it just runs a "scanning" screen and won't let you do anything else and closes the task manager every time you try to open it). I've tried to find it to delete it, I've run AVG and McAfee, nothing seems to find it or recognize it. I googled how to get rid of it but most of the sites I've found want me to download their spy protector or whatever and I don't trust them. Anybody got any idea how to get rid of the damn thing?

[ChuckD]

I appear to have gotten some kind of malware or virus called defender.exe. I've managed to stop it by calling up the task manager as soon as the computer starts up and racing to cancel the process before it starts up (otherwise it just runs a "scanning" screen and won't let you do anything else and closes the task manager every time you try to open it). I've tried to find it to delete it, I've run AVG and McAfee, nothing seems to find it or recognize it. I googled how to get rid of it but most of the sites I've found want me to download their spy protector or whatever and I don't trust them. Anybody got any idea how to get rid of the damn thing?

1. Download MalwareBytes AntiMalware: http://www.malwarebytes.org/
2. Boot to safe mode w/ networking: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/chsafe.htm
3. Run/update MBAM
4a. Try to not look at horse porn
4b. Install this and continue to look at horse porn: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

[J. Walter Weatherman]

I appear to have gotten some kind of malware or virus called defender.exe. I've managed to stop it by calling up the task manager as soon as the computer starts up and racing to cancel the process before it starts up (otherwise it just runs a "scanning" screen and won't let you do anything else and closes the task manager every time you try to open it). I've tried to find it to delete it, I've run AVG and McAfee, nothing seems to find it or recognize it. I googled how to get rid of it but most of the sites I've found want me to download their spy protector or whatever and I don't trust them. Anybody got any idea how to get rid of the damn thing?

Try the free version of this first: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

Also free and worth a shot: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

It's been a few years since I've had to wrangle with a malware infection myself but, in the past when no software was able to nuke the infections out of the box, I've had to dive into the registry with the help of HijackThis and volunteer posters at forums such as the following:

http://www.spywareinfoforum.com/index.php?/forum/18-malware-removal/
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html
http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22
http://forums.techguy.org/54-virus-other-malware-removal/

These forums will generally have stickied posts with instructions detailing steps to take and software to run before posting, and telling you what logs they'll want you to post. Read that before proceeding. The natives get ornery if you don't.

[SKO]

I appear to have gotten some kind of malware or virus called defender.exe. I've managed to stop it by calling up the task manager as soon as the computer starts up and racing to cancel the process before it starts up (otherwise it just runs a "scanning" screen and won't let you do anything else and closes the task manager every time you try to open it). I've tried to find it to delete it, I've run AVG and McAfee, nothing seems to find it or recognize it. I googled how to get rid of it but most of the sites I've found want me to download their spy protector or whatever and I don't trust them. Anybody got any idea how to get rid of the damn thing?

1. Download MalwareBytes AntiMalware: http://www.malwarebytes.org/
2. Boot to safe mode w/ networking: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/chsafe.htm
3. Run/update MBAM
4a. Try to not look at horse porn
4b. Install this and continue to look at horse porn: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Intrepid Reader ChuckD: Why not just stop that whole breathing thing?

[SKO]

Malwarebytes has solved the problem. Thank you, Only Site.

[ChuckD]

Malwarebytes has solved the problem. Thank you, Only Site.

Good on ya. Now you just need to address the horse porn problem.

Also, run some sort of AV. From what I've been told, Microsoft offers a surprisingly good/lightweight/effective piece of software in Microsoft Security Essentials.

Finally, you may want to consider removing Adobe Reader/Acrobat if you have it installed. SumatraPDF is lighter weight, won't constantly bitch at you to update, and isn't prone to frequent exploits which allow for a complete compromise of your OS.

[Saul Goodman]

Or buy a Mac from Yeti's Premium Used Electronics Megastore Emporium. Dot com.

[Eli]

Or buy a Mac from Yeti's Premium Used Electronics Megastore Emporium. Dot com.

Link's broken.