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| Tax-free Internet shopping jeopardized by bill |
| 2013-04-23 |
| [NEWS.YAHOO] Tax-free shopping on the Internet could be in jeopardy under a bill making its way through the Senate. The bill would empower states to require online retailers to collect state and local sales taxes for purchases made over the Internet. The sales taxes would be sent to the states where a shopper lives. Under current law, states can only require stores to collect sales taxes if the store has a physical presence in the state. As a result, many online sales are essentially tax-free, giving Internet retailers a big advantage over brick-and-mortar stores. The Senate voted 74 to 20 Monday to take up the bill. If that level of support continues, the Senate could pass the bill as early as this week. Supporters say the bill is about fairness for businesses and lost revenue for states. Opponents say it would impose complicated regulations on retailers and doesn't have enough protections for small businesses. Businesses with less than $1 million a year in online sales would be exempt. "While local, community-based stores and shops compete for customers on many levels, including service and selection, they cannot compete on sales tax," said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation. "Congress needs to address this disparity." And, he added, "Despite what the opponents say this is not a new tax." In many states, shoppers are required to pay unpaid sales tax when they file their state income tax returns. However, you can observe a lot just by watching... states complain that few people comply. "I do know about three people that comply with that," said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the bill's main sponsor. President Barack Obama Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back... supports the bill. His administration says it would help restore needed funding for education, police and firefighters, roads and bridges and health care. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 I hear amazon offers a service to figure it all out for you for a fee. Oh and they support this for some reason ... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2013-04-23 23:42 |
| #7 I'll quit sewing my for-sale items when you pry my sewing machine from my cold, dead hands (along with my .357). The deadly Singer .357 with the ZigZagger attachment, no doubt. Now, multiply the amount of time I spend dealing with sales tax by 50 Actually a factor of some 200, if memory serves. A lot of states have sales tax based on some local/municipal district. Dealing with this will be a friggin' nightmare. Lots of work for the IT department, though. Assuming you have one... |
| Posted by: SteveS 2013-04-23 21:27 |
| #6 education, police, and firefighters - the three whoresmen of the excise man's lips. Hilarious, its how smaller businesses compete, and how I get a number of my neat items. I guess the next logical step would be carding who comes in my store and charging their city/county/state tax rates. "Where are you from citizen? New York City. New York City! Get'a tax form ROPE4-U...and slowly place the big gulp and mortan's on counter." |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2013-04-23 18:22 |
| #5 LOL, B. I'll quit sewing my for-sale items when you pry my sewing machine from my cold, dead hands (along with my .357). |
| Posted by: Barbara 2013-04-23 17:50 |
| #4 Your internets business exploits the people via a pagan, religious holiday. Our tax scheme was designed to end such exploitation and level the playing field. Any "hand made items" needed by the people will be provided by the government via |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-04-23 16:23 |
| #3 They'd better watch out for the unintended consequences - or in their little pea-brain case, probably intended. I have a shop on Etsy. I don't make a ton of money, but I enjoy the creative outlet, make a few bucks profit on which I pay state and federal income taxes, and fulfill a need for my customers. And I collect taxes for sales made to customers in my state. Handling taxes is a PITA, and the state Tax Dept. just sent out new rules to make it more so. However, I live here, and the customer lives here, so the taxes make sense. Now, multiply the amount of time I spend dealing with sales tax by 50 - it changes from a PITA to a NIGHTMARE. And what benefit do I get from the other At least my state gives me a "dealer's discount" on the state portion of the taxes; it's just pennies, but around Christmas time and big sales, those pennies add up. And of course I live here, so I benefit from the taxes collected. If the powers that be are stupid enough think I'm going to spend the time collecting and submitting taxes to all 50 states, which requires me to understand the sales tax rules of 50 (not 1) states, they're crazy. It would turn me from a merchant of hand-made items into a free tax collector for a bunch of states I've never even visited, and open me up to all kinds of liability if I misunderstand some of the states' rules. And not being a lawyer, or being able to afford a lawyer, I'm sure I and most other small operators will. So I'll go out of business. People will no longer be able to purchase hand-made items (except perhaps locally). Amazon can afford to pay tax lawyers; I can't. So in the end I'll make less money each year, which means I'll pay less income tax to the federal AND state gummints. Did you think about that, you greedy Beltway idiots? |
| Posted by: Barbara 2013-04-23 16:01 |
| #2 Maybe.... You should stop hampering brick-and-mortar stores! Rather than the Diana Moon-Glampers approach... |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2013-04-23 15:44 |
| #1 As a result, many online sales are essentially tax-free, giving Internet retailers a big advantage over brick-and-mortar stores. Is a half truth a lie? This went on during the paper catalog era. The out of state dealer has inventory. When local merchants say 'I can order that for you' - well, so can I. The internet makes it so much easier and UPS delivers right to my doorstep. I don't have to wait on some half ass inventory system or clerk in the store to send an order out, particularly when the merchant waits till he/she gets enough orders to 'make it worth his/her while' or 'that time of the month' to submit an order. I've shopped and tried to give locals the business if they're a couple dollars within the on line price regardless of tax. However, in the majority of cases they don't compete any where near the price and they don't have inventory. Why wait two weeks or more when it arrives here in a couple of days. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-04-23 15:31 |