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Harry Reid and Wal-Mart hope nobody will notice their online revenue raid. Every time Congress has taken a serious look at proposals to boost Internet sales taxes, it has rejected them. That's probably why pro-tax Senators are trying to rush through an online tax hike with as little consideration as possible. As early as Monday, the Senate will vote on a bill that was introduced only last Tuesday. The text of this legislation, which would fundamentally change interstate commerce, only became available on the Library of Congress website over the weekend. And you thought ObamaCare was jammed through Nancy Pelosi's...

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will introduce a bill on Friday to allow states to require online retailers to collect sales taxes. The measure has the support of online giant Amazon. Sens. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Jack Reed (D- R.I.) will co-sponsor the bill, titled the Main Street Fairness Act. Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) will introduce a companion bill in the House. Supporters of the bill argue it will close a loophole that allows online purchases to go untaxed, giving an advantage to online retailers over traditional, brick-and-mortar stores. “Our bill levels the playing field to give...

Internet companies such as Amazon and Overstock are threatening to pull out of California rather than collect state sales tax on tens of millions of dollars worth of business, the Los Angeles Times reports. The move comes after the Golden State’s Assembly passed a law expanding the tax to Internet sales for companies that have a physical presence or sister companies with offices there. The move passed the Democrat-controlled lower house on Tuesday on a 47-16 vote. It now goes to the Senate. [Snip] One Republican voted with the majority. The rest rejected the move saying it would drive business...

Carly Fiorina repeatedly advocates for Internet taxation during her July 7, 2000, testimony in front of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee.

A massive national broadband plan the Federal Communications Commission released last month proposes creating a national framework for the taxation of digital goods and services and imposing a fee to establish and maintain a national public safety wireless broadband network. The Obama administration has a plan to expand online innovation and boost national public safety. And it wants to do it with more taxes and higher fees. The massive national broadband plan the Federal Communications Commission released last month proposes creating a national framework for the taxation of digital goods and services and imposing a fee to establish and maintain...

Legislation requiring online retailers to collect Virginia's 4.5 percent sales tax -- the so-called "Amazon Bill" -- easily cleared the Virginia Senate this morning and is headed to the House of Delegates, where opponents hope it falls prey to that chamber's hostility to taxes. Senate Bill 660, by Republican Emmett W. Hanger Jr. of Augusta, was approved, 28-12. The measure is a priority among traditional, bricks-and-mortar retailers, who say they can't compete with online businesses that currently don't have to collect the tax on Virginia sales. Foes say the legislation is a jobs-killer; that it would force Internet businesses here...

The United Nations says it can end poverty, stop global warming, and end the threat of contagious disease while also unlocking $7 trillion of hidden wealth from developing nations in the process. If this sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. In a new book launched with great fanfare at last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, The New Public Finance: Responding to Global Challenges, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) claims to offer “innovative financial mechanisms that could dramatically reduce the cost of managing global risks can now be implemented by governments across the world.”...

Retailer Amazon.com has cut off its relationship with affiliates in North Carolina effective today, report people who have been involved in the company’s marketing program. Affiliates helped Amazon sell by advertising books, music and other goods on their Web sites. If a customer clicked through those links and bought something on the Web site, the affiliate received a share of that sale. “We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account has been closed as of June 26, 2009,” reads and e-mail Amazon sent to its affiliates today. “This is a direct result of...

It has been a bad week for gun owners in Tennessee, but the taxpayers lucked out when a proposal to tax online purchases when the retailer advertised through an instate company, website or blogger, stalled. Check to see if your state is considering an eTax.

Many states are looking for ways to increase their tax revenue by taxing purchases made online. This extends to third party solicitors located in another state. Our Constitution infers that states are restricted from enacting laws that burden or restrict interstate commerce. Let’s stop this tax now.

If you're planning a major purchase via the Internet, you might want to do it quickly. Congress is expected to introduce a bill this week that would require Amazon.com, L.L. Bean, Cabela's and other online merchants to collect sales tax on all online purchases and return that money to the state in which the purchaser resides. Online Sales Tax?Tony Avelar, AP12 photos Congress will soon introduce a bill requiring sales tax on all online purchases. To read the latest on credit card changes, click through our gallery.(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker) I was recently shopping for a TV for...

Leave it to a Massachusetts politician to get taxes completely wrong. U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt is soon expected to reintroduce the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) bill, a federal mandate for collecting local sales taxes on interstate purchases. You buy organic Oreos from Oregon or moose meat from Montana, and Massachusetts sales taxes would track you across the Internet. Supporters argue it’s unfair to make traditional “brick-and-mortar” businesses collect our state’s 5 percent (for the moment) sales tax while a shop next door can sell the same item online tax-free. They’re right. Every business should be treated the same. What’s wrong...

congress and Obama have their eyes on the Internet to help fund more government spending. Congress is expected to introduce a bill this week that would require Amazon.com, L.L. Bean, eBay, Cabela’s and other online merchants to collect sales tax on all online purchases and return that money to the state in which the purchaser resides. The new bill rewrites 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...

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...

Madison - Wisconsin will collect sales taxes on Internet downloads of music, games, books, ring tones and other video entertainment - a decision that angers some who will find the 5% tax added to their credit-card bills after Oct. 1. ">snip<"

Governor Deval Patrick is pushing lawmakers to expand the state's ability to collect sales tax on products sold over the Internet, which could add millions of dollars in revenue each year and alleviate a severe budget crisis.

New York's expansive new online sales-tax requirements are drawing mixed responses from major e-tailers that haven't previously collected such fees in the Empire State. Despite a pending lawsuit challenging the law's constitutionality, Amazon.com has said on its Web site that it still plans to abide by the law and add sales tax to orders shipped to New York when the mandate kicks in June 1. But online outlet store Overstock.com wants nothing to do with collecting the new tax, according to reports at the Affiliate Tip blog and The New York Times. A few weeks ago, New York's governor signed...

The $0.99 that the iTunes Store charges for individual songs has taken on an almost iconic role in the field of music downloads, becoming what many consider the standard for fair pricing. While the record labels have long lobbied for variable pricing, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has fought them to keep the rate flat across the board. But the price of some customers' music has already been threatened thanks to an entirely different source: state governments. This week, a controversial proposal in the California State Assembly that would have extended the state's sales tax to include digital downloads of media...

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Combined Instructions for Forms IT-150 and IT-201 Full-Year Resident Income Tax Returns New York State • New York City • Yonkers IT-150/201-I Instructions page 66 Sales and use taxes (State of New York) Information on paying sales and use taxes on your income tax return Line 35 of Form IT-150, or line 59 of Form IT-201 Note: Use these instructions on pages 66 through 72 only to complete either line 35 of the short Form IT-150, or line 59 of the long Form IT-201. When do you owe New York State and...

If you buy books, movies or other items from Amazon.com, be prepared to pay more soon. The online retail giant isn't raising prices. Gov. Eliot Spitzer is raising taxes - at least he hopes to. Spitzer has proposed closing a loophole in state tax law that allows out-of-state Internet retailers - Amazon.com being the biggest by far - to avoid charging sales tax to New Yorkers for online purchases. Rather than pay tax when they buy online, New York residents are supposed to account for the sales tax on their personal income tax returns. Few do, and the state loses...