There is no such thing. This may be the last Christmas where it is easy to cheat on your sales taxes by purchasing things online, but every state with a sales tax already requires people to pay sales tax on items purchased on the internet.
But without a national law allowing collection of sales data or the tax, it is easier than normal for people to cheat on the tax.
Imagine if you didn't have withholding of your income tax, and your employer was not required to tell the government that you were employed. In other words, imagine that the only way the government knew how much you made was if you TOLD them.
In that environment, a lot of people would cheat on their income taxes, even more than apparently a lot of people cheat now.
It's like rioters and looters. We think crime is something done by an uncivil minority. Then as soon as a circumstance exists where people think they can get away with it, we see rich people in fancy cars driving up and looting stores. We see masses of people vandalizing things. We see that our nature is NOT one of civility and lawfulness anymore.
It amazes me how many people who call themselves conservatives are proud of cheating on their taxes, when it comes to the sales tax.
I always tell them, if they are that proud, they should go all the way. Most every state allows exemptions to the sales tax. For example, all you need to do is forge a religious exemption letter, and present it when you purchase things, and the store will subtract the sales tax.
So, why doesn't everybody do this? I used to think because people aren't cheaters. Now I think it's just because they didn't know they could get away with it.
BTW, I pay my sales tax every year on my Amazon purchases. I think taxes are too high, but I don't think that gives me the right to pay less of them than the guy living next door who buys his stuff at the local shop, or the guy across the street who buys his stuff online from Barnes and Noble and Target instead of Amazon.
In other words, it just isn't in my nature to make my purchasing decisions based on how easy it will be to break the law. I sign my tax form, and on that form it says that my signature indicates that I have reported all the information I understand to be applicable, and that includes a line on the form for my "use tax".
I can't imagine signing a fraudulent return. But too many people can.
Genesis 6:
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Let me see if I’ve got this straight, you are of the opinion that because people don’t pay their “use” taxes to their states, small businesses who have a small internet presence should be required to calculate and remit sales taxes to thousands of different jurisdictions?
What about someone like my SIL who’s shop in Delaware does some online sales........Delaware has no sales tax, so they are not set up to deal with collecting/remitting sales tax - but it’s OK with you they would have to incur a huge expense to do this or just shut don their online presence?
You see this as a good thing?
Let each state enforce its own sales and use laws within its own borders. We don’t need another layer or government. Sales tax is a state and local issue. That states refuse to enforce the law against their own citizens tells you all you need to know.
Milton Friedman’s biggest regret was automatic witholding. The state doesn’t need more revenue, but less state. Keep in mind the major sponsor of this bill is Dick Durbin.
Think - where will this lead? Our goal is federalism and state’s rights. This is just nationalization of tax policy and will lead to Internet control by the IRS, shut downs of internet businesses, audits, and eventually a VAT on everything at the national level on top of a state sales tax.