Posted on 04/18/2009 10:00:00 AM PDT by sheikdetailfeather
Friday, April 17, 2009
Print ShareThisThe free ride may soon be over.
For the past decade and a half, most Internet shoppers haven't been forced to pay sales tax while buying goods online.
But now, according to CNet News, an alliance of "brick-and-mortar" retailers and state governments has teamed up to end that — and they've crafted federal legislation that may be introduced in Congress as early as next week.
Previous attempts in past years to do so have flopped.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
They sent them FREE by FED-EX overnight. I ordered the wrong size. Called them right away and the NEXT day, the new boots arrived even before we sent the others back prepaid. That's the way they wanted it! Unheard of incredible service! We even received a personal thank you note from the order taker.
ZAPPOS will keep us as customers even if they have to charge sales tax.
sw
This is what this all about, trying to get states taxing interstate commerce which is unconstitutional, but like that has ever stopped congress before...
That is already the case, so what am I missing?
Well..., I can very easily predict where this is all going. It doesn’t take a “rocket scientist” or a “brain surgeon” to see what I’m about to say...
What is going to happen, very simply — is *all the states* are going to cooperate together and collect sales taxes for each other — in order to make sure that they each get their *own sales taxes* in the process....
That’s the “end game” for sure...
Actually, no..., it’s not happening right now. It’s only happening when the Oklahoma resident pays for his purchase at a “brick and mortar” store. The state of Oklahoma doesn’t get its sales tax from that Oklahoma resident, when that Oklahoma resident buys the *same product* online...
You said — 2. If this is being pushed by my state, this will only make me FURTHER limit my spending (and they should be warned that Delaware is only a few miles away...)
—
And what happens when the states get their “end game” in place in which all states collect the sales taxes for their “brick and mortar” stores, plus they collect sales taxes for their online sales, including online sales for other states, and the other states do the exact same thing for them.
You see..., *that* is what all the states are gearing up for — they all collect for each other...
Then you will have *nowhere to go*... LOL...
[... that’s the “end game”... which is “coming down the pike”...]
If when you say “Oklahoma” you mean the governemnet bureaucrats your are right. But if you mean to include Oklahoma businesses, you are wrong, or don’t understand how onerous it ould be for a business to manage the collection and remittance of sales tax for the other 49 states,
I understood what you said in the first place I just didn’t agree with it.
IMO, it will be a new tax that will cover all states equally rather than to attempt to pay based on 50 different rates. It will drive people back to buying in person to avoid the internet tax unless it is lower than your states sales tax. If the internet tax is lower, you will then be required to report the remaining amount due via usary at year end as they will have a means to track your purchases. That is what I see happening.
Look, the internet has been described at the highest levels of our government as a tax free zone. You may want to dismiss those comments as being in error, but the perception you have is not universally shared.
I don’t disagree with your recitation. I do disagree that the internet has not been heralded as a tax free zone for a long time. It has been. And while you’re perception is that it was going to end sooner or later, once again, that view has not been universally shared.
Perhaps I do have a skewed vision to a degree. It seems to me that you do as well, if you think the tax free status of the internet is not well ensconced, and something just about everyone wants to defend.
Here we have the government rearing it’s ugly head again. We want a place where we can be free. The government wants to reign it in. Hell no.
Look. Let’s say you’re 100% right. Do you really want internet commerce to be taxed, just like ever other entity? Shouldn’t we be trying to carve out more areas free from taxation, not surrendering new ground to the taxers?
Thank you Comparative Advantage. Good idea.
Take a look at the articles that I’ve supplied. They all always describe it as a “moratorium” for one thing. And the, for another thing, it *did expire* one time during the Bush Administration, but they finally “got it going again” for another few years and made it retro-active to apply during the expired period.
So, it does *expire* and when it does — *all taxes* are “on again”... it’s really that simple...
And I'm not "supposed" to be paying...*anyway*.
You apparently are ignorant of current regulations.........
I appreciate your return comments. Look, it’s that simple if we accept it. I do not accept it. Many millions of others don’t accept it either.
Once again, should we be granting new ground for taxation, or reducing the places where taxes can be charged?
You and I should be on the same side here.
No matter what has been the plan all along, I do not accept the idea that we should roll over and happily accept taxation on the internet.
Well, heck! It ain’t like I like taxes, ya know... LOL...
But, all I’m saying is that when I was in Oregon, I didn’t have to pay sales taxes (none in that state) and then I’m finding that I have to pay them in every other state that I’ve traveled in. And then, while staying in Texas and Oklahoma, I have to pay them there, too.
If it were my choice, I would have all the states without sales taxes, but it won’t ever be that way.
So, what I’m saying is that if states fund their operations by these sales taxes, by any type of rational type of reasoning, you know that if the states end up allowing the purchases by Internet for goods by their citizens to go untaxed (while purchases for goods in person are taxed) — then — it’s only a matter of time before just about *everything* is sold on the Internet (houses, cars, food, even gasoline..., etc...) and the state has absolutely no sales taxes.
Now, no matter how much you or I don’t like any kind of taxes at all, you kinda know *that* ain’t gonna happen. That’s what I’m saying here.
And then, additionally — since it was set up as “temporary” (i.e., it *expires*) well, it doesn’t take a “rocket scientist” to figure out that all they have to do is simply “let it expire” and that’s it.
I’m not trying to act in such a way as to “impose taxes” but trying to make some “sense” here... and it makes sense to me...
I hope you see what I mean...
—
In the end, after all the wrangling and the yelling and screaming is done — there’s gonna be state sales taxes on the Internet..., that’s just the way it’s gonna work out... (and it has nothing to do with me and my opinion... :-) ... )
It’s a pretty big darned loophole, actually. As I was saying in other posts... if this “loophole” is allowed to continue for citizens of a state to buy goods for themselves, on the Internet, and pay no sales taxes (as they do for the very same goods bought for themselves at the cash register in the store) — then — it’s really obvious that soon *everything* will be sold on the Internet and no one will be buying at the stores, in person, and thus — no sales taxes... LOL...
How long do you think “that loophole” is going to continue... :-)
AND... besides that, the “moratorium” is “time-limited” in that all that has to happen is that it does not get enacted again. It has already happened that way once, and it did expire (during Bush’s term in office). They finally did get the moratorium enacted again, and made it “retro-active” to the expired period, so that it would apply continuously, even during the period it expired.
So, you see..., all that has to happen is simply for it to expire...
While I agree with a lot of what you said, the fact is that states’ revenues have continued to climb astronomically despite the internet.
No state has gone under due to there being no taxes on the internet. There’s no reason to put an end to the tax free zone.
One period (Probably about five years, but I don’t remember the exact time frame) in California the state taxes went up about 40%. Unfortunately, during that period of time spending went up 44 to 47%. And that’s the whole story here.
States want unlimited spending. And they are going to do everything in their power to achieve that, whether it is necessary or not.
I plan to stand in the way of that any way I can.
Well, personally, I would rather have no sales tax on the Internet. As I said, I got used to, for years, paying no sales tax in person either. It’s not been pleasant for me, the last few years, having to pay sales taxes all over the place... LOL...
So, I’m personally happy with it, if it remains this way on the Internet — and — I *do* (very specifically) use this procedure of buying on the Internet to avoid those sales taxes.
I just don’t think my wishes are going to win out... that’s all...
—
Oh, and by the way, you are “taxed” (for those sales taxes) on the Internet — if — you buy something intangible (like music or software or something similar) and you have a card that has an address in a “sales tax state” (the Apple iTunes store is like that, for instance). BUT, the “loophole” here is that even if you “download it” into a “sales tax state” (i.e., that’s where you are actually at), it won’t be charged sales tax for that state, if you have a card that has a “non-sales tax state address” (which I do... LOL...).
So, you can “get out of” sales tax in that particular kind of purchase...
[ ... just a little clue for those who might like to know... :-) ...]
Actually, the limited downloading that I do from iTunes, they haven’t been charging taxes on. As late as this morning, I received a bill for $2.48 for a purchase of $2.48.
I understand where you are coming from though, and I appreciate the dialogue on the subject.
Take care.
If it's THAT obvious..as you say. That would have happened already. You don't have to ONLY walk into a store...as you imply...to pay taxes. Geesh!!
Do you understand that if you buy something on-line right now...and that entity you bot from..has a "foot-print" in your state...you pay state taxes?
You are proving you are ignorant of the regulations / law.......
You can keep whipping that nag...but she won't get up.
You’ll notice I’ve already posted the “intricacies” of sales taxes on the Internet. I’ve seen how they work for “all angles”...., for sure... LOL..
And..., I’m not ignorant of the law in the matter. It’s only a matter of time before the states cooperate with each other and “handle” what’s in *their state* for another state, as long as that state does the same for them. That’s all it takes, is a cross-border agreement between the states, one state to another....
I’m surprised no one can figure that one out... it’s going on right now... in other words, the states are *already* (as we speak...) getting ready to “work together” on that one. They’re just waiting for the “moratorium” to end... :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.