No more internet sales tax loophole?

[zahc]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10220649-38.html?tag=newsLatestHeadlinesArea.0

Imagine having a small online business and having to worry about charging the right sales tax and being audited by 38 different states. I swear, there is nothing our overlords haven't thought of when it comes to kicking the economy when it is down.

Taxes are generally collected as a percentage of revenues or sales. So when revenues and/or sales go down, it makes sense that government revenues go down. Tough titty...the rest of the "real" world is having a hard time too! But instead of accepting declining revenues (OMG) we need to raise taxes so that the hard-hit citizens and online businesses can pay even more taxes while they try to survive.

"Congress is now free to decide whether, when, and to what extent the States may burden interstate mail order concerns with a duty to collect use taxes."

Under existing law, the caveat is that online purchases from sites like Amazon and eBay only seem to arrive tax-free. Legally, however, purchasers are required to pay their own state's sales tax rate--the concept is called a "use tax"--and then voluntarily report the amount owed at tax time.

California residents, for instance, are now burdened with a sales and use tax of at least 8.25 percent. State law is strict: if Californians travel to a state with a 5 percent tax and shop there, the law requires them to cough up the 3.25 percent difference when they return. Online purchases are taxed as well.

yeah, good luck with that.

California's Board of Equalization estimates the state lost $1.34 billion in 2003 because residents aren't paying use taxes--and attributes $208 million of that to online purchases.

I think it's funny how they put it, that Kali "lost" 1.34 billion of "its" tax money.

[K Frame]

" Legally, however, purchasers are required to pay their own state's sales tax rate--the concept is called a "use tax"--and then voluntarily report the amount owed at tax time."

Yeah.

Let me get right on that.

Virginia has the same thing.

BBBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"HAHAHAHAHAH"AHHA!

[Standing Wolf]

Money is to government as heroin is to addicts.

[AZRedhawk44]

Doing this will collapse the internet economy.

Wanna see the stock market sink?  Go ahead.  You'll see small businesses across the US fold with an authoritative THUD, too.

I won't buy online if I have to pay sales tax and shipping.

Of course... a lot of them could just up and move to states like Oregon, that have no sales tax.  Collecting the "use" tax has been a losing game for all states since its inception.

[RocketMan]

Oregon currently has no sales tax.  But our local congress critters regularly make noise about changing that.  I expect someday we'll have one.

edited for punctuation.

[BobR]

In WA there is supposed to be a tax collected on all internet sales. The last time I bought a gun out of state and had it shipped to my FFL he was supposed to collect sales tax on the purchase price of the item. He did, good thing the seller was understanding and gave a smoking deal on a 610. 

bob

[Werewolf]

... deleted ... by ... werewolf...

Change of heart.

Write. Read. Read again. Then post. Forgot that particular piece of advice in this case.

[MicroBalrog]

California's Board of Equalization

This thread is a hoax. No agency with a name that ridiculously socialist can actually exist.

[Monkeyleg]

The cost increase won't just be in the form of sales taxes collected on internet sales. Small one-man shops like me will have to either hire someone to do the sales tax returns or I'll have to work many more hours compiling tax information to prepare the returns. Either way I'll have to raise prices. It's that or get a McJob or live off the government, as my quality of life would be about the same after they're done with screwing up my business.

[Regolith]

Oregon currently has no sales tax.  But our local congress critters regularly make noise about changing that.  I expect someday we'll have one.

If they do that, I'll be moving back to Nevada.  I prefer sales taxes over income taxes anyway, and having both is double-dipping. 

[RocketMan]

If they do that, I'll be moving back to Nevada.  I prefer sales taxes over income taxes anyway, and having both is double-dipping.

In the past, whenever our policritters have proposed a sales tax, it has always been with the proviso that it would replace the state income tax.  But they never combine the sales tax enabling legislation with income tax repeal legislation.  They always promise to do that part at some later date.  Yeah, right, sure, we believe them.  :rolleyes: