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SCOTUS Puts Internet Sales Tax in Play
Townhall.com ^ | June 23, 2018 | Peter Roff

Posted on 06/23/2018 8:00:59 AM PDT by Kaslin

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To: Dilbert San Diego

>>Do kids play outside and ride bikes and play sports for fun, not sports in organized leagues, but sports just for fun?

They can’t. When a couple has only one child, or maybe two with very specific goals put in place from birth for each, they can’t risk any injury occurring to their precious offspring. So, unsupervised outside is play is seen as something that is about the same letting a kid play with a hand grenade. Letting their kid pay unorganized sports is seen as something like sending them off to fight the battle of Antietam.

This is also seen as “unproductive” time wasted that could have been spent on “learning” things that will pass a test, doing activities that will look good on the child’s c.v. to get into the right magnet school, or (most importantly) will not be viewed by the other parents as “good parenting”. Peer pressure among kids isn’t ruining kids. It is peer pressure among parents that is ruining kids.


21 posted on 06/23/2018 8:44:46 AM PDT by Bryanw92 (Asking a pro athlete for political advice is like asking a cavalry horse for tactical advice.)
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To: cgbg
Last bulk purchase of a non-perishable I made online was for Folger's Cinnamon Swirl coffee when the local Wal-Mart supply dried up. I received my coffee. Shortly thereafter, I received a letter from Schmucker's, the parent company of Folger's advising that they had been hacked and my credit card # was one of many others that had been compromised when they had been hacked.

Counting the time invested in getting with my bank, reviewing my statements, etc. it didn't save me all that much money. Or stress.

22 posted on 06/23/2018 8:47:44 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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To: Kaslin

After the crash in 2008 the fertility rate has plummeted.
PC,LBQT, free BC,and cost of kids has reduced the number kids that would be the market for toys.
This reduction in kids is impacting primary schools now but will dramatically impact universities by 2026 and the workforce by 2030.


23 posted on 06/23/2018 8:51:21 AM PDT by jonose
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To: Kaslin

But Toys R Us and other big stores aren’t really competing with other large stores that sell online because those stores usually do have a physical presence in the shopper’s state as well. ToyRUs failed because parents decided shopping there was not worth the bother and aggravation when there were other options that offered better prices and customer services and store policies. OMG concept!

For most common low ticket items the merchant I buy from is not going to be decided on whether my purchase is taxable. I imagine it is the same for others. However deciding what shops I go to is decided by the aggravation level offered by that store. That goes beyond prices.


24 posted on 06/23/2018 8:56:18 AM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: QuigleyDU

At a rather high expense and a need to constantly upgrade. Each county in Florida has the option of tacking on a local surcharge I understand this is not unique to Florida. So if I sell in Florida I must make sure that the county tax of the person who is buying is collected. That amount can change every year if not more often. But according to you doing such on a national level is easy-peasy. Sure.


25 posted on 06/23/2018 9:00:52 AM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: Kaslin

“Main Street brick and mortar can successfully compete with click-based e-commerce if the rules are fair and that way everybody, especially the American consumer wins.”

BS! Most times shipping costs far more than the instate sales tax, but you couldn’t find the item locally at any price.

Now all the small online retailers will close and we will be out of luck.

An example is mower blades for my 50” cut Cub Cadet. New blades cost about $75 at TSC, but I can buy the exact same set of blades for $25-$30 online from a warehouse. Will they now go out of business?


26 posted on 06/23/2018 9:04:34 AM PDT by Beagle8U (Liberals can kiss my bitter clingers!)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

If your state charges 6,7,8 % in sales tax for high dollar items ( over $1,000) you would be foolish not to buy online.

A small outboard motor can cost $5,000 or more, 8% of that is $400!


27 posted on 06/23/2018 9:13:59 AM PDT by Beagle8U (Liberals can kiss my bitter clingers!)
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To: Dilbert San Diego
My point is, the sales tax issue never entered into my decisions about buying products in a store vs. online, or intentionally choosing an online retailer from another state in order to try to avoid the sales tax.

You must be from a state with a low sales tax.

28 posted on 06/23/2018 9:22:44 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: Beagle8U

While I disagree with the ruling, your analysis is incorrect. Small businesses will use simple programs that will apply the taxes—it’s already baked into most prevalent platforms. Yes, it’s a pain, but anyone who expects any government to miss any opportunity for increasing tax revenue is living in a fantasy. This won’t end online commerce, nor will it save brick-and-mortar businesses.

The next step is outright price controls. Why should those big box stores be able to charge less than local retailers? The horror!


29 posted on 06/23/2018 9:27:12 AM PDT by antidisestablishment ( Xenophobia is the only sane response to multiculturalismÂ’s irrational cultural exuberance)
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To: QuigleyDU

>> its not gonna inconvenience mom and pop. Plenty of software out there which will quickly adapt <<

Very easy for you to say, but not the least bit easy for a small firm like my former company. Such little outfits with interstate shipments now will need to file and pay separate fees for sales tax numbers in 49 other states plus DC — and maybe Puerto Rico, VI and Guam.

Moreover, the small firm also will need to file separate annual or quarterly sales tax returns in those 50+ jusrisdictions, whether or or not any payment is due.

The costs of compliance will be huge. A real nightmare. I’ll bet quite a few small entrepreneurs will exit business as a result.

(And BTW, I’m extra-glad I got out of interstate sales while the atmosphere was still friendly!)


30 posted on 06/23/2018 9:38:17 AM PDT by Hawthorn
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To: antidisestablishment

>> Small businesses will use simple programs that will apply the taxes <<

Simple? Have you ever had to file separate tax returns in 50 different states?

Ain’t one bit simple.


31 posted on 06/23/2018 9:40:03 AM PDT by Hawthorn
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To: Fiji Hill

You must be from a state with a low sales tax.


I’m in California. My local sales tax rate is 8.5%. But, I also tend to make small purchases, so the sales tax, if charged, would be small as well. Some people mentioned buying big ticket items on which sales tax could be large. I have never bought such items online, so I never confronted the issue with a big ticket item.


32 posted on 06/23/2018 9:47:25 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: antidisestablishment

“Small businesses will use simple programs that will apply the taxes—it’s already baked into most prevalent platforms. Yes, it’s a pain, but anyone who expects any government to miss any opportunity for increasing tax revenue is living in a fantasy.”

There are thousands of different sales tax rates in America. No business without a fulltime bookkeeper is going to be able to deal with it.


33 posted on 06/23/2018 9:47:39 AM PDT by Beagle8U (Liberals can kiss my bitter clingers!)
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To: Kaslin

Always remember that a sales tax benefits only a greedy gov’t. entity somewhere. The consumer & retailer get nothing from it. Oh,wait.....that’s not quite right because some of that sales tax money might find it’s way to a school district that’s teaching mostly the wrong things anyway.


34 posted on 06/23/2018 11:25:04 AM PDT by oldtech
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To: Beagle8U

It’s all automated for state taxes, and unless you are Obama, that number is still 50, plus DC. I don’t think it includes municipalities at this point. Either way, it’s all just another entry in a simple database and the service costs will be passed to the consumer. It will be one chunk of code thrown into every storefront.

Whether there’s one rate or one million really has no effect on the system. It’s foolishness as usual—compliance costs will ultimately negate any increases. As Einstein said, “the difference between genius and stupidity is that genius is finite.”


35 posted on 06/23/2018 11:40:29 AM PDT by antidisestablishment ( Xenophobia is the only sane response to multiculturalismÂ’s irrational cultural exuberance)
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To: Dilbert San Diego
What about sellers on sites such as EBay? Are they registered as a business in order to collect sales tax, even in their own hometowns?
I suspect a lot of sales will still escape sales tax, because of the difficulties involved in tracking down sales and some auditor making sure that tax was paid.

They might put the onus on eBay and have them factor in what state the seller is in and withhold taxes from the sale, holding it in an escrow account, which them can be drained by the various states.

There will probably be a "businesses that don't sell more than $X amount will be exempt" clause in there some where.

As a small, sometimes seller there, that's my hope. If not, I am done with it.

36 posted on 06/23/2018 12:56:50 PM PDT by Oatka (tHE)
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To: Kaslin

Having sales tax being charged does not affect finances of a brick and mortar store. The store does not make a profit nor does it take a loss on sales tax. Sales tax becomes a factor in a sales when the said tax is in the hundreds or thousands of dollars added to the sales of such item. For most a sale on a 100 dollar item would mean sales of 7 dollars the retailer collects as a proxy for the government. The retailer cannot do anything with this money because after collection from the consumer it must be stored in such a way the government then collect it - every single dime of it. Think of sales tax like one would have an escrow account to pay home insurance. The money goes into an account until such time as it needs to be collected by the insurance company.

A business that says they are affected by the sales tax is straight up lying to the shareholders and consumers and making excuses to create a distraction from the real reason, whatever these may be, why overall sales are bad.

Sales tax is imposed by the government placed on the sale of an item or items, collected by the seller for later collection by the government. The effect it has on the sales is minuscule in nature up to a price point in which the sales tax is quite noticeable by those making up to a certain point. For those who do not worry about money in the slightest, sales tax is a non-issue.

If you think I am wrong, take a look at a taxable item under 100 dollars. Did you even consider the tax into the decision of acquiring the item? If you did it was probably only to make sure you have enough money to cover the transaction and take the item home.

Sales tax is not the reason why brick and mortar stores are failing.


37 posted on 06/23/2018 1:10:17 PM PDT by zaxtres
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To: alloysteel; Chode; All

And now we know why the 0 got all that ammo for the irs and other fed agencies...


38 posted on 06/23/2018 1:14:06 PM PDT by mabarker1 (congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
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To: cgbg

Ebay will be killed dead


39 posted on 06/23/2018 1:21:06 PM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 ..... In August our cities will be burning))
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To: Dilbert San Diego

I feel sick to my stomach and pissed off if I go to order something on Amazon and the tax appears.


40 posted on 06/23/2018 2:11:11 PM PDT by Impy (I have no virtue to signal.)
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