Tax-free shopping

Promoting tax-free shopping and making it easier for tourists to claim the refund back has helped to attract travellers to many countries.

[citation needed] Tax-free shopping is currently available in the following countries: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and Uzbekistan.

Travellers need to keep the purchase receipts and visit Customs before leaving the EU to get an export validation stamp.

The United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) closed its VAT refund scheme at the end of 2020, though VAT-free shopping is still available where a retailer ships goods out of the country at the time of purchase.

Some jurisdictions in the United States allow a refund of sales tax to foreign tourists upon leaving the country.

The Christiana Mall near Newark, Delaware attracts shoppers from the nearby states of Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania looking to save money on purchases from not having to pay sales tax.

The Apple Store at the Christiana Mall claims to sell more iPhones than any other location in the chain due to Delaware's lack of sales tax.

However, it is the purchaser's obligation to pay it directly to the state, often in connection with filing their annual income tax return.

In National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of the State of Illinois and Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, the Court concluded that the Commerce Clause and Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution require that there be a nexus between the taxing state and the vendor of goods or services, in the form of a physical presence.

States were thus previously prohibited from collecting sales taxes on so-called remote transactions because to do so would unconstitutionally burden interstate commerce.

[4] Claims for a tax refund can be made at the TRS counter in an international airport or the cruiseliner terminal of some Australian seaports.