Maryland plops on furniture deliveries.

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Marylanders have to be careful where they sit these days. If the chair or sofa was bought from a North Carolina dealer and shipped directly to them, there might be a tax man lurking underneath.

Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer has gone on the warpath against Tar Heel retailers who sell furniture to out-of-state customers with a knowing wink to state sales taxes. Buyers are supposed to pay the sales taxes when the retailer doesn't have an operation in their home state.

Last year, he began dispatching tax agents to Maryland weigh stations. Their mission: check cargo and manifests for items being shipped to consumers from out of state. For shipments that look suspicious, the comptroller sends a letter to the recipients, dunning them for the taxes owed. From June to December, the state sent 386 letters and collected $35,000. "Our guys have a way of spotting the trucks likely carrying furniture," a spokesman says. "My understanding is that Furnitureland South is the king, but that is only anecdotal."

Ah, yes. Furnitureland South Inc., the Jamestown megashop that bills itself as the world's largest furniture showroom and does a booming business with Maryland shoppers. Schaefer's fight with the dealer dates well beyond this current round. It began after Maryland...

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