TO THOSE who feel they’re getting away with something by shopping in New Hampshire rather than in Massachusetts, where they live, perhaps the Department of Revenue has the answer to that. You’re guilty of tax evasion if you don’t report the savings on your annual income tax return and pay the taxes.
We’re obligated to report and pay the use tax, which is for items bought in another state or online by Massachusetts residents but used in Massachusetts. Failure to report and pay these taxes on one’s Massachusetts Form 1 is tantamount to tax evasion.
The story mentioned a young lady who bragged that her mother told her to shop in New Hampshire to save the taxes. Of course I hope her mother also told her that the savings would be temporary - until she filed her personal tax return. If her mother didn’t give her that advice, what a shame that she’s teaching her daughter to break the law.
Stores and towns near the New Hampshire border as well as the Department of Revenue should remind Massachusetts residents of their obligations. Stores should post signs in their windows. Perhaps large billboards should be erected by the state along Interstates 93 and 95 at the New Hampshire border to remind “tax savers’’ of their obligations.
Herb Harris
Peabody 
