Tax Break Nears End for Online Shoppers

The Wall Street Journal ^ | July 16, 2012 | Monica Langley

[JeepersFreepers]

Republican governors, eager for new revenue to ease budget strains, are dropping their longtime opposition to imposing sales taxes on online purchases, a significant political shift that could soon bring an end to tax-free sales on the Internet.

The newfound support among Republicans is a dramatic change from just a few months ago.

[N.J. Gov. Chris]Christie called taxation of online sales "an important issue to all the nation's governors" and endorsed federal legislation giving all states taxing authority.

[rlmorel]

This was my sign on 9/12/2009 in Washington:

And it is a lot worse now.

[Rapscallion]

When Republicans join the Democrats in wanting to raise taxes, where do we turn?

I turn OFF

I pay COMCAST an ungodly amount every month for my "bundle". Tax the internet and I will drop home-phone and internet entirely and keep just cable TV.

[taxcontrol]

Each state should have a single Internet rate, expressed as a percentage that would apply to Internet sales. The sales collected on the transaction would be decided thus.

The states of the shipper and the receiver would average their two rates. That average would then be applied to the sale, the buyer pays for the sales tax and the seller would be required to remit 50% of the sale to the state of the shipper and 50% to the state of the receiver.

So for example, lets say there is one state (Kalifornia) that has a 10% Internet tax rate and another state, lets say Texas that has a 4% Internet tax rate. The average rate would then be 7% applied to the sale. On $100, the tax collected would $7 with $3.50 going to each state.

In the event that the buyer and shipper are BOTH located in Texas, the rate would then be $4 with the total amount going to the state of Texas.

Now the long term net effect of this is that businesses, in an attempt to lower their costs to their customers, will move their shipping operations out of high tax states into more business friendly low tax states. And there will be jobs that go with that move. And quite possibly, the ENTIRE business will go as well.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

3. Said software costs $8-$12k a year.

Welp there goes my business.

I don't even make that in gross yet. They do this and I never will.