Tax exemption problem

mr_aldosari wrote:

I’m a foreign diplomat and have a tax exemption card. I don’t know why apple stores always find a way to not to honor my tax exemption.

No one here in this user-to-user forum would know why, either. I suggest you contact Apple Support using the Contact Support link at the top right of every page of these forums.

You may also want to consult with someone at your embassy. I would imagine there are people there who deal with purchasing and may have a better handle on how this works.

mr_aldosari wrote:

All diplomats in USA have SSN.

No they don’t. If you’re here on a diplomatic visa working for your own countries government, then you do not qualify for a SSN. You also don’t pay federal income tax on the compensation your own country pays you for your diplomatic services, since the US doesn’t consider foreign diplomat salaries as wages under US withholding rules.

With very few exceptions, the Social Security Administration will not issue an SSN to anyone not eligible for, and seeking to be employed in the USA by a USA company or citizen.

Did you buy the phone in person, or online or over the phone? Since with online purchases, there is no way to physically show the vendor the tax exempt card, they cannot honor the tax exception for such purchases. Unless things have changed very recently, I know the rule is you must present the tax exempt card in person at the point of sale, and the vendor is supposed to retain a copy of both sides of it for their records as well.

Here is Apple's sales tax information, https://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/federalSalesPolicies.html

Are you trying to purchase the phone in the US?

You can't get an Apple Card unless you are a US resident with a SSN, in which case your status as a foreign diplomat in the US is completely bogus.

mr_aldosari wrote:

wow, you all misinformed. it’s the first thing we do when we start working in the embassy. we apply for a SSN.

Then you’re not here under an A-1 or A-2 visa.