APMEX now collecting county info and tax?

Haven't used them for a while, as I have found better prices elsewhere. Yet they do have a good selection of interesting/quirky gift items. So I just went over, logged on and added a couple of items and supplies to the cart and started checking out. The first strange thing was that it complained the address was missing county information. Fine, so I enter it. Then on the final page I see this not insignificant amount as "Tax:". WTF? I don't remember ever paying tax before. Is this something new or am I just imagining things? Anyway, I cancelled the order and will look elsewhere. But I'm curious if anyone still uses APMEX, when did this start? And if this is a trend that may eventually spread to other online dealers?