Posted on 04/25/2013 5:55:21 AM PDT by sickoflibs
How many times can people be lied to, hoodwinked, betrayed, shot in the back, and not realized this is one big con-job?
How stupid can these people be not to understand they’ve been had?
They just don’t seem to understand the ruling class are all riding in the same limo.
Do they just refuse to believe it?
Are they part of the big con-job?
Or are they just plain stupid?
It’s amazing..
Yep. I know of several retailers who are furious at the type of customer that screws them coming and going:
1. They come in, ask a bunch of questions, finger the merchandise.... then leave and order the product online from Amazon (or other online retailer).
2. When the product breaks or they have a problem, they show up (again) at the local retailer, looking for product support.
In both cases, the local retailer is losing precious time to people who are nothing but sponges.
No doubt businesses that don’t have internet sales like the idea of sales taxes on interstate commerce. However, you seem to assume this will be good for those local businesses. That’s a big assumption. Why?
#1 More taxes means fewer sales. In other words, this isn’t likely to improve the economy. It will depress it.
#2 There’s a reason why states call them use taxes instead of sales taxes, because states are not constitutionally permitted to tax interstate commerce. In other words, use taxes tax the use of the items, not the sale. One way to get around this is to have the federal government collect the tax and then remit the proceeds to the states. Otherwise, this tax is unconstitutional.
#3 Sales taxes may have state, county, and local components. The compliance costs of keeping track of all these different rates and accounting for all the money will be a drain on economic activity.
#3 A lot of people probably like the convenience and better informed purchasing power of shopping from the comfort of their homes and don’t feel like having to drive somewhere to shop. Is it worth putting up with traffic, weather, etc. to save less than 10% on a purchase? Not necessarily.
#4 There are many products that don’t sell in nearly enough quantity to support local sales. For example, how many people need a door handle for a 50’s Chevy? Meaning? No local business is going to stock these items regardless. If fewer people purchase fewer of these items, they will be less likely to be manufactured.
I can think of only one advantage for this new tax. Government will suck more money from the free market. If anything, the states should be trying to cut taxes to be more competitive and improve the economy.
Do like we do and use sites where you can meet the person you want to exchange with in-person when possible, and deal direct, and avoid all the delivery middle man BS.
Or just stop buying so much crap. We reached a point long ago where if we don't absolutely needed it, we don't buy it and start fixing what ya already have, yourself. Etc., etc.
If true, this seems reasonable. America is (was) built on providing a level playing field for everyone. Internet retailers have benefited unfairly -however, consumers have benefited which is nice. A million dollar limit allows smaller and medium sized startups to maintain some competitive edge as they seek to stabilize. For big online retailers like Amazon it could be a killer - though with their free shipping via prime
It’s mostly perception. Even with sales taxes added, the goods are cheaper online. But the states are still losing the money and they can make the case that it is stopping tax avoidance.
The bill has an exception for businesses with less than a certain amount of $ in sales, so it probably wouldn’t apply to most Ebay sellers. Regardless, more taxes mean less commerce. That’s a bad thing.
You entire post is garbage, written for some fantasy world that doesn't exist.
Local governments are just as evil as the Feds. They are bloated, filled with sadistic bureaucrats who "live" to seek ways to STEAL more money from the taxpayer and harass them endlessly with sadistic inspectors and thieves.
Government at ALL levels is totally out of control. This bill will NOT correct any wrong. It will only transfer more of our hard-earned money to thieves and parasites that have no moral right to it.
It's insane to believe that government at ANY level is a public good.
We are quickly on the path to utter collapse and it's due to one and only one thing -- government.
Where are all the sultans of sham who keep telling everyone they must vote for the better of two evils?
So that means internet companies will have to collect taxes for 50 states, which in reality puts extra burdens on them as a company. I can already see the problems arising from this. If you have stock in EBAY, Amazon or some other internet sales company, dump them quick I would think. I think they will be in for a rough ride.
“Use” taxes are levied on non-real property (ie, other than real estate or land) that is used in business.
For example, when we ran a farm, we had to pay use taxes to the county annually on all my farm equipment. The equipment was listed when I bought it and put it “into production,” and the county had a depreciation schedule where the value of the equipment on the use tax rolls went down every year.
There were also sales taxes on ag equipment, but the state wouldn’t collect sales tax on equipment that was purchased out of state and delivered to our farm on a common carrier (ie, trucking line with an ICC #). But regardless of where we purchased property used in the farming operation, we had to pay use taxes.
Having the Feds collect “use” taxes will fund local counties about as well as PILT payment do.
Lies. Cry me a river. This tax will do nothing to help local retailers. It will only further fill the coffers of governments with more of our hard-earned money.
Do you have the ability to comprehend the fact that governments at ALL levels are growing at increasing rates? Could that be a factor in declining sales?
Do you not understand that it is government that is killing ALL businesses, not the lack of some evil Internet tax.
It is astounding to me that any Freeper would think that having an added "tax" (in this day and age) will bring anything positive to our economy and society.
It is 100% certainty that absolutely nothing good will come from allowing taxes on Internet sales.
I understand where you’re coming from. It’s very difficult to compete price wise with these internet retailers (been there done that myself), but I think you’re missing the larger issue. This isn’t just about price. It’s about quality of service, making informed purchases, speed of delivery, finding niche items that would never be made or stocked locally regardless, etc.
Local businesses can and do still compete, because they have certain advantages over internet retailers on certain types of sales. It’s not simply about price, although price may be one of the more important concerns for many buyers.
Oh yeah, I just believe in and love local government...
They are our friends...I always go down to city hall for coffee and see if they'd like any extra money for their pensions.
eBay might see some impact. Amazon won’t see much.
As for the “complexity” of sussing out the taxes, there’s already a free service that will give you the details on sales taxes:
Pud easy. As I indicated up-thread, most small online retailers don’t handle coding their own:
- credit card billing, PayPal (or other payment), etc.
- shipping
- sales taxes
- shipping insurance.
There are services available that simply do all that stuff for you, you just plug their modules into your shopping cart and you’re done. I’ve been looking into this for online sales for our new business, and it’s a rather well travelled road now.
That’s quite probably true for where you live, which sounds like a flaming shithole.
It doesn’t describe the area where I live in Wyoming, where I can approach any elected official about any issue just about anytime I want and buttonhole them on some issue.
So here’s my recommendation to you: Stop living in a flaming shithole.
NVDave: ““Use” taxes are levied on non-real property (ie, other than real estate or land) that is used in business.”
Sorry, but that’s not right. Use taxes don’t only apply to businesses. The rules likely vary from state to state, but in my state, use taxes apply to any product purchased out of state that is used in state. It just so happens that the use tax rate (in my state) is the same as the sales tax rate.
In some states, businesses and individuals are both legally required to track all interstate purchases and remit use taxes to the state government. Some states wisely allow consumers to pay a flat rate based on income when they file their annual taxes. It doesn’t matter if I buy something for noncommercial use. I still have to pay use taxes on it.
When I look at the rivers of political donations from the execs, management and staff of the huge internet retailers to the DNC, I’m strangely unconcerned about their financial well being.
When I look at the huge amounts of money that internet billionaires funnel into projects for socialist utopias, gun control, and so on... I’m strangely unconcerned about them becoming poorer.
Funny how I think like that.
That helps, however, it clearly mentions it handles 24 states. What about the other 26 states? Also will it remain free. Remember ATM’s were free when they started out too.
Many, many more than that. For instance, in Tennessee, there is a state sales tax rate of 7%. Then, the State allows a local sales tax of up to 2.75%. Some counties add the full amount, some add less. So, you will need to have the sales tax rate for all 95 counties in Tennessee, and update whenever the sales tax increases. Other states have additional municipal sales taxes in certain cities. The number of municipalities to keep track of are huge. Someone will develop a database and the online retailers will pay a fee for access to the database, so you can put in the customer's zipcode and the proper sales tax will be added. So, in addition to the sales tax, online retailers will be paying the fee for the sales tax database as well as shipping costs. I suppose that is suppose to 'level' the playing field?
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