B&H dodged $7 million in taxes on instant rebates??

Story from just last month just jumped in front of me.  

I found a couple stories on this  https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/14/20964980/b-h-photo-taxes-lawsuit-new-york-state

and here:

https://petapixel.com/2019/11/14/bh-photo-accused-of-avoiding-over-7-million-in-taxes-on-instant-rebates/

Any further you have heard on this topic?  

An accusation or media story doesn't mean it happened. A seven million tax bill in NYC is believable, dodging those levies, maybe not.

Yeah, first time I’m hearing of this.  These are just accusations, they have not been proven guilty yet.  But to answer your question, I have not seen anything on this. 

If legit, they have the $$ to handle this.  

www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/bh-rejects-...new-tax-on-discounts

Ah, nothing like an accurate accounting.......Stupid new york.

So is the AG going after other companies with the same claim, or is B&H the only one?

There will be others, the AG just has it in for B&H, the leftists hate success it seems.....

It's been months, you'd expect to see others lined up at the end of this firing squad.  

effron wrote: There will be others, the AG just has it in for B&H, the leftists hate success it seems.....

With all due respect, there is nothing here that suggests that politics are involved. If you read to the end of the most recent link, there is some indication that an anonymous entity, that stands to gain from additional tax revenue, is part of these shenanigans. But that's all we know.

The question as to why the tax dept. isn't involved is rather spot-on.

"The question as to why the tax dept. isn't involved is rather spot-on.".....
You don't think that has a particular smell to it? B&H was targeted a few years back for not hiring minorities, or women. They pushed back and it didn't sit well with Albany. 
NY is as corrupt as they make them. 

effron wrote: "The question as to why the tax dept. isn't involved is rather spot-on.".....
You don't think that has a particular smell to it?

I don't find enough data here to draw even tenuous connections.

If we found that the AG was being directed to pursue this issue, then maybe. But one could just as easily suggest this is anti-Semitic. Again, not enough information to draw any supportable conclusions, at least for me.

Yeah, agree.  Just not enough meat on the bone to come to any conclusion.  

effron wrote: "The question as to why the tax dept. isn't involved is rather spot-on.".....
You don't think that has a particular smell to it? B&H was targeted a few years back for not hiring minorities, or women. They pushed back and it didn't sit well with Albany. 
NY is as corrupt as they make them. 

I once watched a prison movie where one con says to another - "Joe, I was targeted for burglary." Joe replied, "Well, Mack you did it didn't you?" Then Joe says, "Yeah, but just the same, them rotten coppers shouldn't have targeting me!"

Anyway, I read HERE , that B&H pushed back by paying a 3.2 million dollar Labor Department fine for discrimination. Sounds like the law got their man. As for the Sales Taxes - everyone who's ever bought a car with a manufacturer's rebate knows you pay sales tax on the rebate. Imagine if you owned a Ford Dealership and collected the required mfr rebate sales tax, and the dealership down the road didn't, and customers went there for the lower prices, then you would feel the other dealer was corrupt. 

So now B&H has the PayBoo card offered through a partnership with Synchrony Bank. If you get the PayBoo card, B&H automatically deducts the sales tax from your purchase. So in NYC, this would cost B&H 8.875% - However, if you don't pay on time, you'll get hit with about 30% interest!

So you say, well that's fine by me, I always pay my credit card balances in full. Once again, think about that Ford Dealership down road - the one that is "discounting" their cars by "absorbing" the 8.875% sales tax - that would put you out of business. This is how B&H leverages their unlimited access to capital to put other companies out of business. 

So you say, well that's just business. However, Canon, Sony, Nikon and others that have minimum MSRP pricing agreements with retailers such as B&H will not be happy that B&H is effectively circumventing these agreements by reducing the cost of their products by 8.875%. B&H also sells Canon, Sony, Nikon and other products with "free" kits that include B&H knock-off batteries, memory cards, and in-house Ruggard camera bags. One could argue that these free kits circumvent mfr MSRP agreements as well. Once again, thing of that Ford Dealership down the road - how do you compete with the free stuff they include?

Taken in totality, one could argue that the discriminatory hiring, the pain inflicted upon those discriminated against, the non-paying of rebate sales tax and the shifting of taxable burden to others, the undermining of mfr MSRP pricing structures, the possible monopoly implications, and the unfair business practices - well yeah, enforcing laws applicable to all on poor little B&H is so mean.

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There's no such thing as an MSRP agreement. US distributors impose MAP (minimum advertised price) and unilateral price (minimum selling price) programs on authorized retailers. Canon, Sony, Nikon and others  are well aware of our Payboo program and the ramifications on the final selling prices. Since we're in complete compliance with MAP and unilateral price programs  they have no objection to our Payboo program. Likewise, they're each aware of the kits we and other retailers) offer and have never stated or suggested any objection whatsoever. Nor has there ever been any objection to our offering free shipping for any of their products we sell. I'm not sure why you're stating these suppositions with such emphasis, especially as they're inaccurate, but they're inaccurate.  -- Henry Posner / B&H Photo-Video