[JustSomeNobody]

Some (all?) states already have a use tax that people are supposed to pay. So, that takes care of the second *. Personally, I lean towards that's enough.

[irrational]

I live in a state that does not have sales tax. But if I purchase something for a family member, and have it shipped to their house, I pay the sales tax for their state. So even though I'm the buyer, sales tax actually works based on where the product is shipped to.

So number 2 should probably not be about where the buyer resides, but where the buyer ships the product.

[Spooky23]

The item was used and enjoyed at the destination.

If I am a resident of New Hampshire, and my wife buys me a sandwich online that I eat in California, why would California be cheated out of their tax?

[gowld]

Use tax is mostly unenforced because states have no visibility and can't force other states's residents to report sales.

[lotsofpulp]

With online sales, all of that is on record on credit card or bank account statements. All they have to do is jack up the penalties on sales/use tax evasion, and randomly audit people.