Posted on 07/20/2012 4:38:41 AM PDT by Conservative Vermont Vet
Online retailers are coming under fire from Washington and state governments for not collecting sales tax from customers who purchase goods and services through websites such as Amazon and eBay.
The tax itself is not new. The only difference is that online retailers could soon be required to collect it — just like their traditional bricks-and-mortar peers — instead of trusting customers to pay it on their own to the state, which is a requirement few heed.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
In the Senate, the Marketplace Fairness Act would allow states to require online retailers to collect sales tax. In the House, the Marketplace Equity Act, which has a hearing next week, would essentially do the same thing.
Both have growing bipartisan support.
“You have got to make sure a sale is a sale, whether it takes place downtown or online,” said Rep. Steve Womack, an Arkansas Republican who is sponsoring the House bill. “If you’re going to have a tax assessed for anything, it’s bad policy to make it ‘optional.’ Anytime we have a system where you’re basically on the honor code to report taxes, that cannot be healthy.”
OK, someone want to help me out here?
As it is apparent that States ALLREADY have the "authority/power" to insist that online retailers collect sales taxes, WHY is it ANY business of the Feebs to get involved and pass legislation "forcing" said internet companies to collect taxes and remit them to the individual states?
WORSE yet, why is this being advanced (even introduced) by Republicans?
I'm betting it's the old "follow the money" issue and some of these RINO's are benefiting from campaign contributions by those who want to see this legislation enacted.
While it would hardly cripple the internet it certainly would affect sales as other than the convenience, many make purchases based upon that very reason of not having to pay sales taxes.
If your business has a physical presence in a state, such as a store, office or warehouse, you must collect applicable state and local sales tax from your customers. If you do not have a presence in a particular state, you are not required to collect sales taxes. In legal terms, this physical presence is known as a "nexus." Each state defines nexus differently, but all agree that if you have a store or office of some sort, a nexus exists. If you are uncertain whether or not your business qualifies as a physical presence, contact your state's revenue agency. If you do not have a physical presence in a state, you are not required to collect sales taxes from customers in that state.
This rule is based on a 1992 Supreme Court ruling (Quill v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298) in which the justices ruled that states cannot require mail-order businesses, and by extension, online retailers to collect sales tax unless they have a physical presence in the state. The Court reasoned that forcing sellers to comply with more than 7,500 tax jurisdictions was too complex for sellers to manage, and would put a strain on interstate commerce.
Have not bothered to try and find the language in the proposed legislation but I'm curious on how these moron moonbats (and that applies especially to the "so called" Republicans who support this) intend on trying to craft a bill which does not conflict with the above listed SCOTUS decision as that decision appears to be rather cut and dry, at least as it applies to online retailers who don't have a "presence" in the states they do business with?
The loser party is going wobbly (again). Expect more of this reach-across-the-aisle crap if Romney wins.
My office is in NYC and whenever I buy anything (mostly from newegg) I always have to pay a sales tax.
I live in NJ and I think (not sure) that when I buy something for my home address, there is no sales tax.
Wanna bet that all the whining about ‘leveling the playing field’ is coming from retailers in high sales tax area?
Rather than seeking local tax relief for their customer base they seek to spread the burden of high taxes to others.
Not to long ago I came across this item.
A muslim with but one goat and jealous of his neighbors fine flock of goats, prays to Allah to kill his neighbors goats, rather than more goats for himself.
I have bought plumbing supplies, household goods, products to remodel my bathroom, air pistol, printers, computers, clothes, cameras, among many other products.
I also have a Tracfone which when I add minutes, charges me sales tax and as far as I can remember, they are the only ones that have ever collected any sales tax from any purchases I have ever made.
Of course none of the outlets I have used have a "presence" here in the People's Socialist Republic of Utopian Moonbats (Vermont) nor does Tracfone, so I wonder why Tracfone collects taxes and none of the others do.
As it amounts to only a a couple of bucks every 6 months or so, I've never worried about it or asked Tracfone why they do.
Naturally, as a good, law abiding citizen, I dutifully remit to the State an amount equal to the Sales Tax for the products I purchase online.
Cross my heart and hope to die, I do! lol
Yep, the first thing the Democrat monopoly in Maryland did was raise state sales taxes by 33%. But many of us here buy expensive items online and just pay the shipping charges and not sales tax, which works when the item is expensive and light weight.
It's very simple. If the states want to have high sales taxes on their residents they need to work with local businesses to add value to those products that make buying them local worthwhile, not tax the crap out of them.
Screw ANY RINO who supports this.
But its all just because they dont want to stop draining the country dry. all the while they dont want anyone who makes a dollar to give it to them .. we dont need more taxes
My uncle in Washington state built a new house. The sales tax rate in Washington is close to ten percent.
He drove to Oregon (with a zero tax rate) and loaded up his enclosed trailer with everything from washing machines, to furniture, water heater etc. and brought it all back to install in the home.
I can see a valid argument for replacing Federal income taxes with a federal consumption/sales tax. But to be done right it would take a repeal of the Income tax amendment.
At the state level I see little validity in making state residents pay sales taxes on stuff they buy from other states who don't want to collect those taxes for the resident states(its not generally in their best interest to make their businesses LESS competitive) , except just to get more $$$.
If states want they are legally free to make agreements with other states to collect the sales tax for each other, and still let states that dont want to still sell the items free of sales taxes.
If taxes REALLY make everything better then states with high sales taxes will be making superior products which make it worth the additional price.
This is one i have thought about. Republicans betray us on this and I will never support them again in any way, not that they would care.
If you have a Walmart anywhere in the State, Tracfone has a presence in the state and therefore they can charge you tax. Why dont you buy from Amazon???
O.K., how would you like to be a local merchant having to charge 8% sales tax on every item sold and the same item sold by an “out of state” company does not charge the tax? You say “follow the money”, who do you think is keeping that 8%? If the state sales taxes are not applied to on line or catalog purchases we are going to see the total demise of main street business or the federal government putting a sales tax on and we know how well they handle monies.
On a thread about this the other day I saw FReepers saying this was a good idea because the dastardly web sellers were undercutting brick and mortar stores and should be punished.
Stuff like that tends to smoke out the fifth columnists on this site. Ahhh, if it were only possible for readers to rate posts, conservative, not conservative.
I see you were trafficking in assault weapons then. Interesting. Say, you wouldn't be a Tea Party Member, would you?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.