GoPro Class Action: Florida Customers Overcharged for Online Sales Tax

A Florida man who traded up his GoPro video camera says the company has been knowingly overcharging sales tax on online retail sales.

Plaintiff Luis Cabassa claims that defendant GoPro Inc. has been erroneously calculating sales tax based on the full retail price of its products instead of on their actual sale price. By failing to account for sales and other discounts, GoPro ends up overcharging its retail customers for sales tax, Cabassa claims.

The GoPro class action states that Cabassa was overcharged sales tax in April 2017, when he purchased a GoPro HERO5 Session camera. He purchased the camera through GoPro’s TradeUp program, which allowed customers to send in their older GoPro camera in exchange for a $50 discount on a new camera.

The TradeUp program has since been discontinued.

Attached to Cabassa’s GoPro class action lawsuit is his purchase receipt for the new camera, showing a sales tax amount based on the camera’s full retail price. The receipt shows a full price of $299.99 and a discount of $50 marked as a “Pro Deal Discount/Post-Sale,” for a pre-tax subtotal of $249.99.

The receipt also shows a stated seven percent sales tax of $21, which is seven percent of the full, undiscounted price.

While that sales tax rate is correct for Cabassa’s residence in Hillsborough County, Fla., he argues GoPro violated Florida law by applying that rate to the full price instead of the post-discount price.

He quotes a Florida statute that governs the sales tax applicable when a used item is accepted in trade for a discount on a new item. In such transactions, the sales tax is determined based on “the sales price of the new article, less the credit for the used article taken in trade.”

Many Florida administrative provisions also restrict the amount of sales taxes that can be charged when a discount is taken, according to this GoPro class action lawsuit. Under these provisions, dealer discounts and dealer coupons require sales tax to be calculated based on the lower, discounted sale price, Cabassa argues.

Cabassa further alleges that GoPro does not remit the overcharge to the Florida Department of Revenue but instead keeps the revenues for itself.

“Defendant’s sales tax assessment practices, in effect, are improperly and fraudulently adding a surcharge to purchases, and are disguising those surcharges as a ‘sales tax’ that does not exist, and for which Defendant lacks authority to collect or remit,” the complaint reads.

Cabassa seeks to represent a plaintiff Class that would cover all GoPro customers who made online purchases using a dealer discount or trade-in, and were charged sales tax on the purchase’s full, non-discounted price, in violation of applicable Florida regulations and within the applicable statutory limitations period.

He seeks an award of actual and statutory damages and a declaration stating that GoPro is in violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act and barring GoPro from continuing the allegedly unlawful practices. He also seeks reimbursement of court costs and attorney fees.

Cabassa is represented by attorney Brandon J. Hill of Wenzel Fenton Cabassa PA.

The GoPro Sales Tax Overcharge Class Action Lawsuit is Cabassa v. GoPro Inc., Case No. 8:17-cv-02188-SDM-TGW, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.