Republicans Introduce Bill Pushing Internet Sales Taxes

[Galraedia]

The days of tax-free Internet shopping may soon be coming to an abrupt end, if two Republican senators have their way.

Sens. Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee are currently preparing to introduce new legislation that would allow states to force Amazon.com and other out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes. Their bill has the backing of several key corporate retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy, Home Depot, and other companies that are currently required to collect sales taxes. At issue is whether online retailers should have to collect sales taxes in states where they’re making sales. Currently, online shoppers are supposed to report purchases for tax purposes but usually don’t.

"It's time to close the online sales tax loophole," says Jason Brewer, a vice president at the Retail Industry Leaders Association in Arlington, Va., which represents big box stores. "Amazon and companies like it are no longer fledgling startups."

The Republican-led legislative effort has a clear precedent in legislation introduced by Senate Democrats last year. The so-called Main Street Fairness Act of 2010 was introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and called for taxes on online purchases, under the presumption that local retail outfits are placed at a comparative disadvantage to online retailers due to discrepancies in taxation. The justification for these measures is a reprise of arguments that state tax collectors have made for at least a decade: they claim that Amazon.com, Overstock.com, Blue Nile, and other online retailers that don't always collect taxes are unreasonably depriving states of revenue, and that they enjoy an unfair competitive advantage over local retailers that must collect taxes, according to CNET’s Declan McCullagh. (The latter argument ignores added shipping and handling charges added to online purchases that often exceed the amount of sales tax levied on purchases at local stores, making the online goods more expensive, albeit more convenient, for the consumer.)

http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech-mainmenu-30/computers/9637-republicans-introduce-bill-pushing-internet-sales-taxes

-_- Typical.

[Vincardog]

1. After we have a Financial Transaction Tax

[bighughdiehl]

2. But...but....

Aaaaaall taaaxes are baaaaaad! Oh wait, only taxes on people that
can afford to pay are bad! Fuckking repukes. Fuck them to hell!

[Southerner]

3. I'm actually for this tax.

As much as I enjoy not paying sales tax on items purchased on the internet, I just can't refute the argument that the current way grants an unfair advantage to online retailers and denies revenue to the states. If we do nothing, we could end up with no walk-in stores at all - just big warehouses full of goods you can order online for delivery to your home.

[exboyfil]

4. I tend to agree

but postage still prevents the scenario which you outline. What Walmart and other big box retailers are doing is moving closer to such a scenario using their logistics. Eventually you may see just pick up locations for goods ordered online. The retailers are starting to do this now, and the situation will only escalate over time. Any extra dollars in the commercial stream will be removed and split between the retailer and the consumer.

It makes no sense to pay sales tax for Barnes and Noble but not not Amazon.

[GSanon]

5. In Maine, we're already supposed to pay this tax at the end of the year. nt

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