Internet Sales Tax Could Ease Budget Woes

[Flesh Thorn]

AUSTIN, Texas – State governments across the country are laying off teachers, closing public libraries and parks, and reducing health care services, but there is one place they could get $23 billion if they could only agree how to do it: Internet retailers such as Amazon.com.

That's enough to pay for the salaries of more than 46,000 teachers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In California, the amount of uncollected taxes from Amazon sales alone is roughly the same amount cut from child welfare services in the current state budget.

But collecting those taxes from major online retailers is difficult.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06 ... z1PmFC4jJl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jim]

This issue is gaining traction. The Governor of Maryland directed that a study be done to determinehow much untaxed commerce goes on. On the other hand a number of merchants who have brick and mortar stores in specific states usually collect taxes for internet purchases in those states. As an example, I buy from L.L. Bean on line. They have a store in Virginia, and they charge me sales taxes for all goods delivered to my home.

[RangerX]

The CEO of Amazon put something out a while back about this.

The gist was that states forcing online retailers to collect sales tax is unconstitutional, as it interferes with interstate commerce.

Don't really know the legal stuff, but I do know that implementing a system to collect sales tax would be a huge pain. Sales tax is determined by states, counties and even local municipalities. Often the sales tax for a given place can change on a quarterly basis. To implement a system that works would be a huge burden, which would likely get shifted to the government that wants the money to buy votes, which would mean even more tax bureaucracy than we already have.

That alone means I can't support it.

[Baseplate]

I like it when the politicians piss away all the money the we give them. Then say things like "Vote for this tax raise it is for the kids" Thanks assholes.

[CloakAndDagger]

The states may not like it, but Amazon is in the right on this one:

Article I, Section 8 (Powers of Congress), Paragraph 1:
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Article I, Section 8 (Powers of Congress), Paragraph 3:
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

Article I, Section 9 (Limits on Congress), Paragraphs 5-6:
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another

Article I, Section 10 (Powers prohibited of States), Paragraphs 2:
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

[RangerX]

I like it when the politicians piss away all the money the we give them. Then say things like "Vote for this tax raise it is for the kids" Thanks assholes.

To be clear, we don't give it to them, they take it.

[K.Ingraham]

Don't pass laws that you cannot enforce. NYS requires us to pay taxes on all out-of-state purchases.
Then they pay some state employee to drive all over PA & MA to stick flyers under the windshield wipers of cars with NYS plates in mall parking lots reminding the owners to pay the sales tax next year with their NYS income tax.
riiiight.....

If they actually want this idiocy to work, then all states must abolish the current system and at a national level we can adopt the Canadian VAT system, which is likely not to be any more constitutional than the proposals we're reading about in this thread but would serve us all much better.

[RangerX]

So I am a big fan of the Fair Tax, which is a VAT style tax, in conjunction with complete elimination of the income tax. Part of that plan is to repeal the 16th amendment which would help with the legalities.

[rgrokelley]

Translation... we just spent all of your money on stupid fucking shit so it will keep us in power. We need more money to pay for even more stupid shit, so we are going to tax the one thing that is truly a freeport in the capitalist world.

The internet is capitalism. Unregulated, yet not evil... hmmm. Maybe that whole capitalism thing works!