Posted on 03/12/2010 7:40:07 AM PST by Still Thinking
The recent passage of H.B 10-1193 has just prompted internet giant retailer Amazon.com to leave Colorado and all of its affiliates in the State.
This Bill that only the most informed among us has even heard of before this, levied a new tax on all out-of-State retailers including through internet communications.
...
So, without double-speak, it basically puts the responsibility onto the out-of-State retailer (Amazon.com in this case) to collect and pay the necessary sales taxes of an advertiser inside Colorado.
...
Democrat lawmakers, including Gov. Bill Ritter, criticized Amazon for cutting off affiliates, with some calling it "corporate bullying."
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Hmmm, inept law, fraught with unintended consequences, destroys business, poorly written.
Wonder whether the Colorado legislature is dim-bulb-cratic.....
Well, duh.......
The real point is that States want out of state companies to collect sales tax and remit it to them. Naturally the State does not want to pay the retailer any administrative costs that he may accrue. You are supposed to do it for .000XXX percent of the collected tax. The tax division of a state are not the most pleasant ones to work with.
As a side note, Amazon collects sales tax for New York State.
Another state-specific example of this stupidity is when I purchased something from a vendor in IL, and they insisted on charging me sales tax unless I gave them a copy of my resale license. Seems IL law requires all interstate sellers to do that.
After another transaction, they insistently demanded that I send them a completed W-2!
I know several of the Western Slope Republicans in the legislature and they were putting up as much of a fight as they could considering that they were completely outvoted. This bill was part of a package known as the "Dirty Dozen" tax increases that the Republican minority was up in arms against.
There was also a series of articles by Clear the Bench Colorado on the unconstitutionality (at both the state and federal level) of the bills in this package:
Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold discusses Colorado Supreme Court role in enabling "Dirty Dozen" tax increase bills
Supreme Court Ruling Opens Door to Millions in New Taxes
Challenges to "Dirty Dozen" tax increase bills likely to end up before the Colorado Supreme Court
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
2 SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
3 hereby finds and determines that:...(c) Same-sex couples are at a significant disadvantage, however,
11 because they cannot legally marry in Colorado and are unable to claim
12 benefits for a same-sex domestic partner from many employers;...(g) The state must remain a competitive employer in the market,
27 recruiting and retaining the best employees for state government positions(h) It is therefore important for the state to offer domestic partner
4 benefits to its state employees in order to give the state a competitive edge
5 in attracting and retaining qualified individuals for employment with the
6 state.
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