You are right it is a temporary loop hole that was allowed to exist so that a new market model could get a toe hold and flourish. Two decades is enough.
Conservatives believe local government is best. Conservatives believe in federalism.
Having a local state tax that has faulty enforcement for a new market to emerge is one thing, but it does make states more dependent upon the federal money flow because part of the normal commerce that is occuring escapes taxes.
The state has less income from the commerce in the state and becomes more dependent or introduces NEW forms of taxes rather than what was approved.
We now have established national businesses that are killing the local retailers that employ local people. If the large internet monsters could exist off shore or in India to insure maximiziing profits they would.
I like local government that I can more easily control with my neighbors — I don’t like Federal Government. I like local services such as fire, police, sewer treatment, property and contract rights courts. I don’t like EPA, Department of Energy, and all the Federal bloat.
Why do we want to hamstring the local government and thereby create a void that the unlimited Federal Government can fill?
Taxes are “takings” I agree, but when the feds spend they aren’t limited by what is voted on — they just spend more money by printing it.
States are already doing this on their own and it is causing a mess. I don’t agree with it but I see the reason for it.
My major issue with this approach is that it forces internet retailers to deal with at least 50 different sets of sales taxes, depending on the location of the customer. If local taxes are included, the number of sets of taxes could become exponentially larger. At brick-and-mortar, they have to deal with one set of sales taxes - for their store's location.
Closing this "loophole" makes internet retailing prohibitively expensive, with time and effort for distinguishing the various sales tax requirements and transmission of the collected money an unpaid government service to be provided by the seller. It does not "level the playing field" - it tilts it drastically in the opposite direction.
Local government (at least around here) is primarily a mechanism to funnel money from tax payers to real estate developers. If those tax payers don’t go along, the local government threatens to withhold essential services like police and fire. Our town can find $250,000,000 to give to developers to build a sports arena, but can’t do anything about homeless people sleeping and defecating on the streets.
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.
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.
The tax will hurt internet shopping and will not help local business at all.