Maybe I don’t understand the problem, but mail order has had to do this and I don’t see why internet retailers should get a pass.
Nice to see you are for more taxes.... as if we don’t pay enough. I don’t give a crap if they pass it or not, go for it. I won’t shop online anymore, there will be no advantage to it.
No they haven't. If you order something from, let's say St. Louis, MO and you live in Chicago, IL, you don't pay either Illinois or Missouri sales tax on it.
Actually, the current laws apply to mail-order and internet sales.
For states that have sales taxes, they usually also have a corresponding use tax (it varies, but this is just in general).
The use tax is due on items you purchased from out of state, but didn't pay sales tax on.
Most folks don't even know about use taxes, or if they do, they don't pay them.
Catalog and mail-order companies, even the companies that sell you the thingamajig on TV for only 19.99 plus shipping and handling, will all tell you to add your state's sales tax if you live in certain states.
The rule for most state sales tax collections is that, if you have a brick-and-mortar presence in the state, then you must collect sales taxes on items sold via the catalog (now internet) mail-order services to customers within that state. Of course, this all varies by state. But ultimately it is because consumers don't follow their own state's laws and don't file to pay any use taxes due. Which is why the states are screaming.
A neighbor a few blocks away got mugged at a certain intersection. Must I reroute myself and also go through that intersection? Why should I get a pass?
The interstate commerce prohibition of obstructing interstate commerce has been repealed?
As far as I know there is no national sales tax, nor should there be. Just another hidden stealth means of the Feds getting more of our money.
As an aside, there is something perverse about collecting a tax when I download an electronic book, for instance. Nothing physical is being transfered.