Posted on 09/29/2016 8:42:53 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Probably the greatest rarity among politicians would be one who said (and really believed), “The government collects plenty of money as it is and I don’t want to plunder the taxpayers any further.” The vast majority of them know that spending tax dollars helps them remain popular and that’s why they’re constantly looking for new revenue streams.
They will even trample upon clear legal rulings when they get in the way of their designs on the wealth of the citizens they supposedly serve. A new example is the renewed push by state officials to impose sales taxes on out-of-state transactions, especially Internet purchases.
This is a rather old battle that seemed settled by the Supreme Court almost a quarter century ago.
In its 1992 decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, the Court held that a state can only tax sellers who have a physical presence within the state. Otherwise, such taxation runs afoul of both the Due Process and Commerce Clauses of the Constitution.
That case involved sales by mail order catalogue and even though North Dakota argued that it should be able to tax sales by Quill to residents because a) it had to dispose of discarded catalogues and b) it supposedly created the prosperity necessary for Quill to be able to sell its goods, the Court said “no.” Justice Stevens wrote the opinion for the Court; Justice Scalia wrote a concurring opinion that was joined by Justice Anthony Kennedy.
State officials, however, keep trying to pry the lid off the Internet treasure chest.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
we ain't seen nothin yet if that comes to pass.
There has never been a question of whether states can charge sales tax on internet sales. States with an income tax have had a line to self report internet purchases and pay the sales tax when filing.
The bone of contention is with those states without an income tax. They have to rely on individual internet companies charging and collecting sales tax on behalf of the state, and forwarding that revenue to the state.
The point of litigation is can a state compel a company with no physical presence in a particular state to collect and remit sales tax for that state.
This is a question of regulating interstate commerce, and is a Federal question, and barring any federal laws requiring reciprocity of sales tax collection among the several states, my answer is ‘no, you cannot compel an out of state entity to collect and remit sales taxes to the state.’
Actual Christians will not find it makes a difference to their allegiances to the Lord whether or not the present regime is friendly to them (although of course as the bible reminds us, we ought to be praying that it will be friendly to things godly).
Christians are still aliens and strangers; earthly friends today may prove to be fiends tomorrow, or vice versa. And God has no grandchildren. A righteous (by faith), virtuous generation may be followed by a wicked one, occupying the very same place.
We should be ready to follow up with God in either the case of a more friendly or a more hostile America.
Technically, the state use taxes fill that hole. If those who technically owe that tax do not file and pay, then collection and tax penalty efforts are possible.
But this isn’t as easy as a standardized sales tax collection system.
The People’s Republic of MD already does it!
Still, I’d rather it be more friendly.
I really have no anxiety to become a martyr either to Muslims or Democraps
I’ve owned a business here in Texas that sells via the internet nationwide. Have for many, many years. I know the regulations very well.
If I sell to anyone in the state of Texas that does not have a sales tax exemption number or special exempt status (I.E. farm use, religious organizations etc.), I collect Texas sales tax on the sale.
If I sell outside the state I do not charge any tax at all, whether Texas or of the state in which sold. The only exception to this rule is if that business has a presence in Texas. That is, any branch or home office is located externally to Texas but has locations in Texas they become taxable if they don’t present a valid exemption statement.
Now! The worst part of this nightmare they are trying to foist upon us is the fact that each business will become mired in a heap of paperwork and administrative hassle of the massive administrative “spider web” of trying to report to (and adhere) to their individual sales tax reports, rates and rules. Each quarter my business could be responsible to filing reports to EVERY state I sold in along with sales tax reimbursement to Every on too! One quarter it might be only 3, the next 45, the next 30 and so on. It would become a nightmare and the administrative costs would definitely increase the cost of my products.
There is one bright glimmer of hope however, the accounting leaches will have a field day with all of that new business!
Indeed. All the more reason to fight the corruption and evil before it takes and even greater hold of our lives.
Not to worry. I’m sure that SAP will be more than happy to sell you a software package that will automate the entire process, and it will only cost you $10,000 per month in maintenance fees.
You know....and I know....that’s what it is all about. “One had washes the other” in government speak. I do something for you and you do something for me.
Government corruption never changes and never will go away.
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