Posted on 04/17/2009 7:33:04 PM PDT by Comparative Advantage
If a little-known but influential alliance of state politicians, large retailers, and tax collectors have their way, the days of tax-free Internet shopping may be nearly over.
A bill expected to be introduced in the U.S. Congress as early as Monday would rewrite the ground rules for mail order and Internet sales by eliminating what its supporters view as a "loophole" that, in many cases, allows Americans to shop over the Internet without paying sales taxes.
Currently, Americans who shop over the Internet from out-of-state vendors aren't always required to pay sales taxes at the time of purchase. Californians buying books from Amazon.com or cameras from Manhattan's B&H Photo, for example, won't pay sales taxes at checkout time that they would if shopping at a local mall.
"We will have the bill ready for introduction by next Monday," said Neal Osten of the National Conference of State Legislatures. "We finalized the language and now we're working out the remaining issues and adding some new provisions at the request of various stakeholders."
This is hardly a new debate: pro-tax officials and state governments have been pressing Congress to enact such a law for at least seven years. They argue that reduced sales tax revenue threatens budgets for schools and police, and say that, as a matter of fairness, online retailers should be forced to collect the same taxes that brick-and-mortar retailers do.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.cnet.com ...
Borders is a big lib company too.
What is this “Constitution” you speak of? It sounds familiar, yet, I can’t place it? Is it an important document? Our dear leader knows everything and he never seems to mention it’s importance...am I missing something?
;-).../sarc....
Private internet sales won’t be affected. Everyone who can will migrate over to craigslist.
Yes. Pack your own lunch and bring a thermos of coffee, don’t even buy their in-store stuff.
“No comrade, I am avoiding being a capitalist resource hog.”
I buy and sell used books through Amazon often. They make selling very easy to get into, with no charge to list an item unless it sells. Some tips:
1. Be very attentive when dealing with books with multiple editions, ie. academic texts. Amazon tries to keep a separate product page for each edition, but specific edition listings often have truncated descriptions or aren’t listed at all. This is as confusing for sellers listing inventory as it is for buyers shopping. So double check descriptions and when in doubt email a question first.
2. The 3.99 shipping is USPS media mail. It usually takes about a week. Except when it takes 3 weeks. Don’t sweat it when something doesn’t show up, it’s usually not lost. Just slow.
3. Don’t sell hardline leftist books, ie. Ivins etc. Seriously. The first time I got a profanity laced rant in my mailbox three business days after a sale because the book hadn’t arrived yet, I thought it was a coincidence. The third time I knew it wasn’t. I justified it on the grounds that I was costing the publisher a new sale, but dealing with those people just isn’t worth it.
4. Don’t take much account of seller feedback counts. A low number of feedbacks doesn’t mean a new account and probable scammer like it does on eBay. Most people just don’t leave feedback. I get about one feedback per 25 items sold.
Don't forget the already financially strapped USPS who are also used for internet purchases.
Retailers who count on internet sales for their subsistence won't any longer be advantageous for ever-increasing thrifty shoppers if both taxes and shipping costs are factored in. Shippers will be forced to increase their rates because profits and employee base numbers will both have decreased. The domino effect will ultimately affect everyone in the pocketbook (even those who don't shop on the internet).
Some states already charge taxes for internet shipments; i.e. Washington.
You said — Then I won’t be buying anything.
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Well, it ain’t as if you didn’t have to pay sales tax in your state (if your state had it...) ... LOL...
It’s a bit disingenuous to complain about something that people have been doing somewhat illegally for a while, when one finds out that one must “now be legal” about it... :-)
By the way, if you move to Oregon, you won’t have to worry about the problem. They don’t have sales tax there and — therefore — you don’t have to pay it “online” either... (that’s the way it works...).
You said — No Problem I will just relocate my Domain to TJ and then the sales will be international and not subject to any state sales tax.
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Well, what you’ll find is that no matter where you are at, the sales tax will be applied on the basis of where the item is *shipped*. I’ve gone through that before, when I was in Oregon, but was on a trip and so was elsewhere in the country. I would get charged sales tax for the state I was in (where I wanted it shipped).
That’s what you’ll find that will apply now...
You said — Get ready for the fingernail growth tax.
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Ummm..., that is a mischaracterization of what is going on here. If you go down to a store in a state that has sales tax and you buy it there, you will be charged that tax at the cash register and you can’t take the item without paying that sales tax that everyone else has to pay, also. That’s a tax related to your own state, by the way, and not the Federal Government.
But, in the past (and with *some online retailers* but not all of them) you could buy something online and have it shipped out to your state without paying the relevant sales tax — although the state said you owed it anyway (and you were supposed to give that sales tax to the state, but few ever did that... LOL...).
So, now, all they are doing is collecting the same state sales tax that you have always paid, when doing the purchase “in person” and “live” — so it’s not a new tax, but a tax that had been “skipped” by many online retailers and online purchasers....
They’ve got libraries, too, in most towns... I find a lot of books there... LOL...
My library has been overrun by bums and homeless people during the daytime.
I buy computer items from China..from time to time..many times the item costs a penny and the shipping is ten dollars.
So will I pay tax on the penny????
The item is actually worth maybe 6 to 8 dollars...many vendors do this. I used to think it was some sort of stupid trick...but I came to realize it must have something to do with taxation/duty charges.
So, sell your item on the net for say...a dollar, and charge the rest to shipping/handling...customer pays tax on the dollar?
You said — My library has been overrun by bums and homeless people during the daytime.
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I’ve seen them in libraries, but they’ve never bothered me unless they were snoring next to me... LOL...
While filing taxes.... NJ already demands you to declare anything bought out of state where no NJ taxes were paid.
I buy almost all of my textbooks used from Amazon and have had good luck. I have had just one order where my delivery took two weeks. The books have always been in the condition the seller has described too. If you don’t mind some bent corners or some highlighting then it is a good way to go.
Other times I have found that I can buy new books on Amazon for cheaper prices than used ones...just do your research.
What’s yours is theirs. People wouldn’t be so darned upset if they’d just stop and reflect on that truth. Busting your back at work? Relax, it’s not your back. It belongs to the democraps. Be thankful they let you use it and don’t charge you for it! /s
hehe. Unless they were sleeping on the book I want to borrow, I’m cool with them as well.
Here is what you do.
Let’s say you want to sell music cd’s. You set up a non-profit organization to raise money for charities.
You let you customers choose the charity of their choice and after they donate a fee, ie the cost of the cd, we donate a minor portion to the charity and they get to pick the cd of their choice as a free gift.
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