Like you, we sometimes wish we didn't have to collect and pay sales tax with regard to online floral orders. And, for our next-day bouquets physically shipped outside our home state of Illinois, we do not. But, with regard to florist deliveries, our tax code (and that of most other states) requires that we do, regardless of destination, because it specifically treats florist and flowers-by-wire transactions differently from traditional catalog sales where things are physically shipped.

You see, nationwide florist delivery (or flowers-by-wire) does not involve shipping. Instead, orders are transmitted to local professional florists who design and deliver directly. So, the majority of U.S. states, including ours, address these transactions separately in their tax codes, requiring that sales tax be collected and paid (normally based on where the vendor is located). In other words, if you walk into a local flower shop in most states and place an order to be sent anywhere in the U.S. (or the world), you'll usually be charged sales tax. This is true on the Internet, too, because the same existing laws apply. (The moratorium on Internet taxes only prohibited NEW TAXES from being levied on Internet transactions.)

So, while sales tax may not apply for many "direct-ship" items on the Internet, including our courier delivered flowers, it does apply to our florist delivered products and services (under 35 ILCS 105/2, paragraph 97-030 of the IL code for Use and Occupation Taxes) and those of most other online florists, too. This means that if you purchase a florist delivered bouquet from us, you will pay a small amount in tax, but we trust you'll find that we more than make up for it in overall service and value.