Posted on 07/26/2015 7:47:56 PM PDT by Olog-hai
Republicans in the Senate are leading efforts to pass legislation that would allow the states to impose a sales tax on online transactions.
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) has proposed the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), which would allow states to "collect and remit sales and use taxes with respect to remote sales.” The bill includes an exemption for companies whose gross remote sales are less than $1 million per year. The legislation enjoys support particularly among legislators in rural states who believe that online retailers are encroaching on sales made out of traditional storefronts. […]
This is not the first time Enzi has pushed for an online sales tax. In 2014, he was able to pass the bill in the Senate by combining it with another bill called the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA). Conservatives supported ITFA because it prohibited taxes from being imposed on Internet access service. However, the package never reached the floor of the House for a vote.
While Enzi’s bill stands to pass the Senate with bipartisan support again this year, it still faces strong opposition from conservatives. …
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Enzi and his ilk are outrageous. Stop spending more than you have to. I know government wastes and there’s plenty of room to cut.
Of course not; that's a stupid rhetorical question. It's no more difficult a task than dealing with all the jurisdictions in California. Just look them up. Software can do it, cheaply.
If a business had to file quarterly in those states, that's almost 200 tax returns which have to filed.
Piece of cake for a computer. Really, what's all your crying and whining about?
A couple of nice little computer apps are not going to make everything a-okay.
Why not? It can be done on a smart phone.
In my mind, it is an unreasonable burden to place on small businesses. It creates an administrative nightmare and hinders actual productivity. Filing forms is not productivity.
I'm sorry you find it so taxing.
No sale.
It's never been more obvious in OH. All of those spending cuts Kasich brags about were money local communities need to function. Now there's that windfall tax coming in from Amazon purchases now being taxed because the geniuses in Columbus thought it was good for the state to have an Amazon facility open in OH.
Try to get a straight answer out of a local state rep about why that windfall isn't going per capita to communities. It's just more money to fill their buddies pockets.
Exactly, but I have direct experience in local small government and there’s a ton of waste. You could cut 50% and have a better functioning municipality. Plus, the real costs are in pensions.
There’s almost one pensioner per every government employee in Illinois. So we’re paying for one ghost payroller for every government employee and we don’t even need every government employee.
The terrible secret of government is they don’t work and they don’t work hard. 20% of any department does all the work.
Sen. Ron Johnson of WI voted for this in 2013. It will be interesting to see if he does so again as he is up for re-election in 2016 and his conservative voting record isn’t good. I’ll bet he is hoping that no one remembers.
http://www.redstate.com/2013/03/24/26-republicans-vote-for-internet-sales-tax/
Small towns do better, though it's not perfect, at keeping the waste in check. The towns need more of the money that's coming into the state and county, and most of it would be spent on necessary services for people who live there.
p i n g
Better than Enzi.
Taxes, taxes, taxes. :)
“Screw these Senate GOP whores. “
You are FAR too kind !
Indeed. Why give them what they most desire?
Boner & McConnell are so greedy,and so evil, that I would bet they get an annual vacation to Hawaii from Planned Parenthood
” I’m sorry you find it so taxing.
No sale. “
I don’t necessarily care how easy or difficult it is to collect the tax, it’s the principle of the matter — the GOP USED to stand against increased tax revenues. I know, I know, these are already existing taxes not being collected blah, blah blah...
But the point is, while the GOP does NOTHING for our interests — defunding Planned Parenthood, defunding sanctuary cities, etc, they are willing to go to great lengths to do the bidding of the Chamber of Cowards. Another reminder to never again give one dime to any piece of the party apparatus.
What are necessary services?
roads, police, fire, trash removal, public buildings...
This still respects the principle of Federalism, pushing revenue down to the State level, for which the GOP also stands. So it’s a mixed bag. Small bricks and mortar stores critical to any community are getting killed by Amazon et al. So this may be as much about them as anything else.
Fire, trash and libraries can be privatized. So can road repair and maintenance. In Chicago, our private police respond quicker than the CPD. Try shrinking government more, then you won’t need so much tax money.
“Small bricks and mortar stores critical to any community are getting killed by Amazon et al.”
Hard to buy that argument when Amazon and Walmart are the biggest backers of this bill. Seems to me, the small online retailer is the one that is hurt the most by this. The brick and mortars already have the advantage of being local where you can buy same day, easy returns, etc. The small online retailer needs something to attract buyers to purchase from them, or they go out of business.
You can make an argument for federalism, but I still see this as another example of GOP priorities out of whack. At any given town hall across the country, I doubt you’ll see a clamoring for the Marketplace Fairness Act. The Walmarts and Amazons are the ones the pushing for this and they are the ones the lawmakers are listening to.
The brick and mortar store has the disadvantage of the requirement to collect the tax. In California, that can be nearly 9%.
You can make an argument for federalism, but I still see this as another example of GOP priorities out of whack.
So you admit you are seeing things?
The Walmarts and Amazons are the ones the pushing for this and they are the ones the lawmakers are listening to.
Citations please.
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