“why would you assume people don’t?”
NPR has an article that will answer your question. It is entitled “Most People Are Supposed To Pay This Tax. Almost Nobody Actually Pays It.”
It says “It’s called a use tax. As far as I can tell, accountants and tax lawyers are some of the only people who pay it. Forty-five states have a use tax. About 1.6 percent of the taxpayers in those 45 states actually pay the use tax.”
So 98.4% of Americans who owe the tax do not pay it. (Does the 0.016 who pay cover all of unzere?)
“Like most states, Connecticut rarely goes after anyone for use tax violation… But states seem to be abandoning the idea that people will pay the use tax.”