My store is close to the border with a state that has a higher sales tax than our own. When asked to do any such action, I explain that (a) it is not legal and (b) I have no way to know if the "customer" is really a representative of either state attempting to trap me. "So, Mr. Customer, you will understand that just as I don't want the government on my back, you don't want me to turn you over for evasion when I am hit with an audit. Isn't that right?" You absolutely have to stay legal. If you handle the situation lightly and in good humor, most of the time you will still make the sale. Those few that you don't make aren't worth the risk.

I think you invite all kinds of trouble when you locate a retail store near a legislative border. Sales taxes, smoking laws (for bars and restaurants), property taxes, sin taxes, etc, can really bring you down if you're on the wrong side. And the wrong side can change. But we can do something about sales taxes. In Illinois, our sales tax return, filed monthly, has a category for out of state sales. It could easily be expanded for a state by state breakdown, and Illinois could collect taxes for other states on this form. And other states could do the same for Illinois. Obviously there would be some inequities and problems, but it would better than what we have now, which is billions of tax dollars going uncollected. Soon the time will be right for a politician to become a leader and start working toward eliminating this black hole.