When is a gun safe not a safe?

Ben Cartwright SASS

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I just picked up a Stack-on Pistol "Cabinet" tried to argue that it is covered by the no sales tax in Mass as it is sold to secure handguns.

I was told it has to say the word "safe" on the box.

So are Trojans tax free? - actually for women they are FREE under Obamacare
 
Out the vendor so we don't shop there, the law is pretty obvious, it doesn't mandate wording on the packaging. If any layperson can say that it is a firearms security container/safe, then it is EXEMPT from sales tax.

-Mike
 
Sorry forgot to let you know.

The Dicks Sporting Goods in Brockton, the clerk and then the Manager both emphatically said that it has to say "safe" in order for it to qualify for the no sales tax for gun storage.

Who could I complain to at the state level or is it even worth it?
 
I bought a Stack On Cabinet at Bass Pro in Foxboro 2 years ago, and they charged me sales tax as well. Said it's not a real safe.
 
I bought a Stack On Cabinet at Bass Pro in Foxboro 2 years ago, and they charged me sales tax as well. Said it's not a real safe.

Yeah, that kinda sounds like something a box store would do. I'm guessing the OP either went to Dicks or BPS, or it was one of those debacles with a wholesale club like costco.






-Mike
 
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Sorry forgot to let you know.

The Dicks Sporting Goods in Brockton, the clerk and then the Manager both emphatically said that it has to say "safe" in order for it to qualify for the no sales tax for gun storage.

Who could I complain to at the state level or is it even worth it?
They absolutely do qualify but way too often you've got to fight with idiots to get the exemption.

No one in state government will help. Forget about that possibility.
 
Sorry forgot to let you know.

The Dicks Sporting Goods in Brockton, the clerk and then the Manager both emphatically said that it has to say "safe" in order for it to qualify for the no sales tax for gun storage.

Who could I complain to at the state level or is it even worth it?

In cases like this I was told to contact DOR to file a complaint. They alleged that they would follow-up and fine the vendor. I never bothered to file the formal complaint. The mere thought of dealing with DOR on any level is enough to make me upchuck!

If it will cause the store or management pain, it's probably worth it.
 
Ratting on them with MDOR? Yeah, good luck with that. Best idea is to leave it sitting on the floor wherever and buy it somewhere else.

-Mike
 
Sorry forgot to let you know.

The Dicks Sporting Goods in Brockton, the clerk and then the Manager both emphatically said that it has to say "safe" in order for it to qualify for the no sales tax for gun storage.

Who could I complain to at the state level or is it even worth it?


Why is anyone still shopping at Dick's?
 
Why is anyone still shopping at Dick's?

I go there for FUDD stuff admittedly. Last time I was there I picked up a 100 rounds of Win. Blind Side 12g 3" #2 that came in a plastic ammo can. It ended up being about 80 cents/ round which is pretty damn good for those rounds. I wondered if they were selling them so cheap because duck season is long over and long to come. Hate on me all you want. I've never bought a gun from Dicks though and probably never will.
 
it does suck but it is a "cabinet" and there are no sales tax on "safes" so im pretty sure if ypu argue it be falling on deff ears. I would just save up a few more hundred and get a cheaper 700$ safe which will be a little bit more secure then the cabinets. ..
 
A few months ago I bought the Stack-On 18 gun cabinet from Dicks. I was NOT charged any tax.
Friends and family have bought numerous Homak and Stack-On locking gun cabinets from different stores at different times and none of us ever paid MA sales tax. Store managers and their home offices rarely know the law in this regard, so the trick is to print out the law re: sales tax exemptions, including information on sales tax enforcement and penalties. Make it clear to the store manager: No sales tax (per the law) or no sale. If necessary, offer to call enforcement right on the spot with the store manager. It has never failed us.
 
it does suck but it is a "cabinet" and there are no sales tax on "safes" so im pretty sure if ypu argue it be falling on deff ears. I would just save up a few more hundred and get a cheaper 700$ safe which will be a little bit more secure then the cabinets. ..

I don't have safes, I have a safe room with monitored alarm and radio backup In there I keep my stackon's (ignore the real safe in the corner) It helps me keep things organized. There is only one door and no windows. Every cabinet has a purpose such as shotguns, military, .22's, handguns, etc.
 
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The law does state "gun safes"

(rr) Sales of commercial gun safes and trigger lock devices.

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleIX/Chapter64h/Section6
Technically speaking, of course, 97% of all the gun safes out there currently aren't really gun "safes" at all... at least not according to Underwriters Laboratories' definition and testing/rating criteria. Rather, they are (at best) "Residential Security Containers" or RSCs. [thinking]

I also notice that Rep. George Peterson has filed a bill to eliminate the word "commercial" from the current wording of the sales tax exemption. Perhaps even more clarity is needed regarding the intended scope of the exemption.
 
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Law enforcement equipment has pulled this crap too.
they refund the tax when you complain but basically tell you to screw.
 
Law enforcement equipment has pulled this crap too.
they refund the tax when you complain but basically tell you to screw.

Yup, they did that to me and thus lost this customer and the review of the shop here on NES reflects my experience with Walter!

As a merchant required to collect sales tax myself over many years, I fail to understand why anyone would act as a douchebag and collect for the king when they legally don't have to do so. When I lived in CT and sold high end stereo equipment (freelance, no store), if I sold to US Navy personnel, we completed the sale on the Sub Base Property (US Property - CT can't collect sales tax there) and I did it as a tax-exempt sale. As soon as I moved back to MA, I mailed back my CT Merchant Sales Tax Certificate and canceled it. I can't wait to move out of MA and do the same here.
 
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