Great plan to destroy the economy big-time. As usual in a free market economy, whole businesses are springing up and growing to support something new & of value to people - in this case the burgeoning on-line business environment. Taxes will put a major damper on it, add layers of bureaucracy (cost), and shut down new & vibrant businesses built around the Internet - which is the biggest current engine of economic growth we have.
We already have to pay shipping costs for on-line stuff, which often more than makes up for taxes. However, it's still worth doing to eliminate the hassle of driving around (good for environment) looking for something you can quickly find online. Plus the online world is more competitive, so you can usually find a better deal to offset the shipping costs. Throw taxes on top of shipping charges and we'll be forced back to the cave man days of driving all over kingdom come to hope to happen upon the right store that sells something for a reasonable price & actually has it in stock -- all to avoid draconian shipping charges PLUS taxes on top of anything you buy on-line.
The message to date has been obvious to modern retailers. Go on-line to grow your business, or risk going out of business. These "legislators" don't like this. They are out to maintain the status quo & protect mom & pop stores against progress and new competition presented by the Internet and on-line shoppers. Kind of like protecting the whip & buggy industry. Plus, they just can't keep their money-grubbing hands out of anything that involves growing revenues in the private sector. Greedy, knuckle-dragging jerks - no matter what party they're in.
>We already have to pay shipping costs for on-line stuff, which often more than makes up for taxes.<
Bet you think corporations pay taxes also.You paying shipping cost on everything you buy unless you are picking it up at the point of origion.