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Web cart: city tax?
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 1:19 am
by intellivision
I'm using the "Instinct e-commerce" Wordpress plugin for a site, and the client wants me to apply city tax to purchases made in her city. Of course the cart doesn't get that granular.
I have a suspicion that collecting city tax isn't really required, despite her proclamations.
It's a very small city in Colorado.
Have you ever run into this?
I could write some pretty ugly hacks to look for her city in the address form and apply an additional city tax, but man I'd really rather not.
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:43 am
by feyd
There are most certainly cities with varying tax rates, so it's possible.
Re: Web cart: city tax?
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:46 am
by nickvd
intellivision wrote:I'm using the "Instinct e-commerce" Wordpress plugin for a site, and the client wants me to apply city tax to purchases made in her city. Of course the cart doesn't get that granular.
I have a suspicion that collecting city tax isn't really required, despite her proclamations.
It's a very small city in Colorado.
Have you ever run into this?
I could write some pretty ugly hacks to look for her city in the address form and apply an additional city tax, but man I'd really rather not.
If your client wants a city tax, and you want to make money, you add the city tax... There isnt any other question to be asked aside from yes ma'am, what is the tax rate ma'am...
Besides... if ($city == 'yourcity') { $total = $total + $cityTax; not that big of an ugly hack

Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 12:43 pm
by intellivision
Finding out that she's mistaken and politely telling her so is a far better option than putting in a hack and having the hack overwritten when a dev down the line upgrades the software.
If city tax collection for Web purchases is a law in the US, it strikes me as odd then that the software doesn't get that granular. Maybe because it's written in New Zealand, and NZ doesn't have city tax.
Do other carts have city tax? It may be that city tax is simply ignored, just as vendors and consumers ignore the state tax (except for home state of vendor).
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 1:09 pm
by superdezign
intellivision wrote:Finding out that she's mistaken and politely telling her so is a far better option than putting in a hack and having the hack overwritten when a dev down the line upgrades the software.
You know, the term, "the customer is always right," doesn't mean that they are always correct

. They are paying you, so just do what they want. As long as it's her choice, it's really not your problem.
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 1:49 pm
by Charles256
precisely...do it cause she's paying. It may suck, but at the end of the day it's not a huge deal. If it is, bill her more.
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:55 pm
by feyd
intellivision wrote:It may be that city tax is simply ignored, just as vendors and consumers ignore the state tax (except for home state of vendor).
Which is illegal in several states.
It has nothing to do with federal law, but state and local ordinance. Some cities and states charge sales tax on purchases, even those made through the web. Tax evasion is a fairly serious charge, however.
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:25 pm
by intellivision
feyd wrote:intellivision wrote:It may be that city tax is simply ignored, just as vendors and consumers ignore the state tax (except for home state of vendor).
Which is illegal in several states.
It has nothing to do with federal law, but state and local ordinance. Some cities and states charge sales tax on purchases, even those made through the web. Tax evasion is a fairly serious charge, however.
Then why doesn't this very popular cart software -- really the only cart software plugin for WordPress -- have city tax capability? (Rhetorical question: I'd have to ask the authors.)
Thanks to all for your input.
I'll hack it in and let her know she'll just have to remember to tell the next dev there's hack(s) on line(s) xxx of file(s) xxx.
And why can't someone in her small (really small... more like a town) just go to her house and give her cash or send a check?

(Also rhetorical. It's not my job to ask that. But I do wonder.)
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:30 pm
by Charles256
intellivision wrote:feyd wrote:intellivision wrote:It may be that city tax is simply ignored, just as vendors and consumers ignore the state tax (except for home state of vendor).
Which is illegal in several states.
It has nothing to do with federal law, but state and local ordinance. Some cities and states charge sales tax on purchases, even those made through the web. Tax evasion is a fairly serious charge, however.
Then why doesn't this very popular cart software -- really the only cart software plugin for WordPress -- have city tax capability? (Rhetorical question: I'd have to ask the authors.)
Thanks to all for your input.
I'll hack it in and let her know she'll just have to remember to tell the next dev there's hack(s) on line(s) xxx of file(s) xxx.
And why can't someone in her small (really small... more like a town) just go to her house and give her cash or send a check?

(Also rhetorical. It's not my job to ask that. But I do wonder.)
Don't use the word "hack" when talking to her. Try "modification",
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:38 pm
by nickvd
intellivision wrote:...and let her know she'll just have to remember to tell the next dev there's hack(s) on line(s) xxx of file(s) xxx.
If my developer said something like that to me i'd drop them in a heartbeat...
That's your responsibility as the developer/programmer to ensure that your code is maintainable... Why should she care? She's paying you to do the work...
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:41 pm
by intellivision
nickvd wrote:intellivision wrote:...and let her know she'll just have to remember to tell the next dev there's hack(s) on line(s) xxx of file(s) xxx.
If my developer said something like that to me i'd drop them in a heartbeat...
That's your responsibility as the developer/programmer to ensure that your code is maintainable... Why should she care? She's paying you to do the work...
What do you suggest?
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:44 pm
by superdezign
intellivision wrote:Then why doesn't this very popular cart software -- really the only cart software plugin for WordPress -- have city tax capability? (Rhetorical question: I'd have to ask the authors.)
You should inform them of the missing ability. I'm sure they're looking for things to add but aren't quite sure where to go next.
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 6:58 pm
by nickvd
intellivision wrote:nickvd wrote:intellivision wrote:...and let her know she'll just have to remember to tell the next dev there's hack(s) on line(s) xxx of file(s) xxx.
If my developer said something like that to me i'd drop them in a heartbeat...
That's your responsibility as the developer/programmer to ensure that your code is maintainable... Why should she care? She's paying you to do the work...
What do you suggest?
I suggest documenting the changes you made.. it's that simple... a simple comment outlining where and why you made the change is all that's required...
How could I be expected to remember that you made changes to lines 1-3, 40-50, 58283-58283 in different files in different folders... This is precisely why I am paying you. It may be many years until your client will need work done on your code.
I have clients who cant remember the password to their email account 2 days after I changed it for them... Think they could remember that I made changes to some files 2 years go?
The client's responsibility is to sign off on the specs, the design and the cheque, nothing more, nothing less...
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:30 pm
by intellivision
nickvd wrote:
I suggest documenting the changes you made.. it's that simple... a simple comment outlining where and why you made the change is all that's required...
How could I be expected to remember that you made changes to lines 1-3, 40-50, 58283-58283 in different files in different folders... This is precisely why I am paying you. It may be many years until your client will need work done on your code.
I have clients who cant remember the password to their email account 2 days after I changed it for them... Think they could remember that I made changes to some files 2 years go?
The client's responsibility is to sign off on the specs, the design and the cheque, nothing more, nothing less...
Yes of course, I should have been more clear: I'm not going to telephone her and say "xxx.php on line 334 and xxx2.php line..."
I'll write a HEY_DEVELOPER_READ_ME.txt file, AND make the client aware there's some "modified" files. But really, in say 3 years the chances of the next dev not copying over the ecommerce plugin directory with the new directory are what? Fifty-fifty?
Wouldn't it be easier -- even, my duty as her developer -- to inform her that the complexity of city tax can be safely ignored if that in fact is the case?
Even the mighty osCommerce package does not have city tax, and only has county or zip tax with additional modules installed.
That's why I asked here first. Is city tax regularly and safely ignored like buyer-paid state tax is regularly and safely ignored?
http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/busine ... es(1).html
If so I want to raise this point with the client, and remove complexity from her business and web code.
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:59 pm
by superdezign

Complexity? At what point was complexity implied during this thread?
And again, there's little reason to argue with a customer. Doesn't sound like a good way to get referrals.