Thanks for this insight, I was not aware of this difference. As far as I can see though, this doesn't account for the drastic difference, given the average sales tax in the US is roughly 7% [0][1]. On top of the $279, the price would then end up at about $300.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_Stat...
[1] https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/info-2020/state-sales-tax-r...