[Cobrals1eater]

Here is a small part of the article. Once again, the government put us in the place were are now and once again, will tax us yet another way that use to save us some money on out of state purchase.

NEW YORK - Shopping online can be a way to find bargains while steering clear of crowds — and sales taxes.
But those tax breaks are starting to erode. With the recession pummeling states' budgets, their governments increasingly want to fill the gaps by collecting taxes on Internet sales, which are growing even as the economy shudders.
And that is sparking conflict with companies that do business online only and have enjoyed being able to offer sales-tax free shopping.
One of the most aggressive states, New York, is being sued by Amazon.com Inc. over a new requirement that online companies must collect taxes on shipments to New York residents, even if the companies are located elsewhere. New York's governor also wants to tax "Taxman" covers and other songs downloaded from Internet services like iTunes.
The amount of money at stake nationwide is unclear; online sales were expected to make up about 8 percent of all retail sales in 2008 and total $204 billion, according to Forrester Research. This is up from $175 billion in 2007.
Based on that 2008 figure, Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru says her rough estimate is that if Web retailers had to collect taxes on all sales to consumers, it could generate $3 billion in new revenue for governments.

[tripleblack]

This has been coming for a long time.

I suspect this will be tested at the Federal level (covered by the Constitution under "inter-state commerce").

I also suspect that the states will win.

[shartley]

Originally Posted by tripleblack

This has been coming for a long time.

I suspect this will be tested at the Federal level (covered by the Constitution under "inter-state commerce").

I also suspect that the states will win.

Correct. And I believe the States will win as well. This is nothing new though. Mail Order sales have had this happen, when you travel to trade shows or events in other states you have to deal with State tax issues, etc. Why people think the Internet should be different always confuses me.

[white angel]

What a bummer, that is one of the best feature of shopping online. Oh well, won't stop me from shopping online, don't have much choice around here lol

[pcfrisch]

You people have been reporting your online sales on your tax, haven't you.....

[shartley]

Originally Posted by pcfrisch

You people have been reporting your online sales on your tax, haven't you.....

I report ALL sales when I do my taxes... but NOT all my purchases. The tax system can be a real pain for businesses that sell across borders/State lines. And often times (such as Canada) a customer has to pay taxes on items shipped in from the US. It is just the way things are.

Just for grins folks should pick a state at random and look up their tax laws on sales. LOL Oh my! Some States are very confusing and get you coming or going. And others are pretty easy and have no real issues (same with business taxes... contrary to what some may think just because a State does not have an "income tax" does not mean businesses don't pay an "income tax" ).

The whole tax issue goes way beyond what most people see, or even think about. They tend to focus on income tax, property tax, gas tax, and food taxes. Those are only the tip of the iceberg. And all the rest still affects everyone... like a raindrop helps create the flood.

[tripleblack]

The biggest share of taxes that most people pay is the list of taxes hidden in the purchase price of everything they buy. The corporate income tax (Federal, State and Local) is the lion's share, but there are literally hundreds of little slices from all sorts of strange taxes and government fees in there).

[Tiger]

May we say it again? Fair Tax!

[tripleblack]

Much as I LOVE the idea of the NRST (one version of which is the FairTax), all these programs have one thing in common - capturing ALL retail sales for the taxes. The internet sales would NOT be exempted as most are today.

Still, its a small price to pay for getting the current federal tax system monkey off our backs.

[shartley]

Originally Posted by tripleblack

Much as I LOVE the idea of the NRST (one version of which is the FairTax), all these programs have one thing in common - capturing ALL retail sales for the taxes. The internet sales would NOT be exempted as most are today.

Still, its a small price to pay for getting the current federal tax system monkey off our backs.

Besides that, I don't think they could generate enough revenue to actually pay for Government or a fraction of the things they want or even NEED to do. To do that, they would have to put such a high tax on things that in all honesty it may be counter productive.

....... or am I off base?

What really bothers me about the current tax system isn't so much all the taxes we pay in SO many ways, but the fact that it is not FAIR across the board. I would like to see EVERYONE pay the same amount (%) and not make the few pay for the majority.

I would also like to see the budget really looked into and cut all truly unneeded items from it. The problem with the increased deficit with GW was NOT about taxes collected but with the amount spent. They are two different issues but seem to be lumped together for many people.

[countymounty]

They tax the money I earn.
With what little is left they tax the personnel property I buy.
With what is left, which is sometimes not enough, they tax the bills I pay.
What I have left is my own personnel property, and they once again tax that to.

[tripleblack]

Sorry, Sam, this IS that rare instance where you are off the mark.

I could launch into the LONG version (which to be done correctly runs pages and pages and pages), but I'll do us all a favor and just say that the answers are in two short, easy-read books:

"The Fair Tax" books by Neal Boortz and John Linder.

PLEASE, everyone reading this, read these books. Most libraries have them (they were both Best Sellers in their day), for those who don't want to lay out the cash.

Once you read the first book, 99% of your doubts will be gone if you are open minded at all.

Then there's the 2nd book, which will cover the 1% remaining.

I've been arguing and explaining this stuff for years, on here and elsewhere (and yes, long before the books came out - they just make it a LOT easier).

After wading through this on political sites and everywhere else, I have encountered only ONE effective come-back anti-FairTax at the end of the line - that the politicians are NOT to be trusted setting our tax rates.

There is NO denying this. All the FairTax can promise is to delete a lot of the Washington politician's power to screw us with the tax code. It will so radically reduce their power in this regard that the MAIN reason so many of these political polecats resist the FairTax IS their fear of letting loose their stranglehold on US.

The NRST is a superior MEANS of financing the costs of government. It is designed to be revenue neutral, ie, it is NOT a tax cut or tax increase, and it will not police Congress's spending for us. It CANNOT force the voters to place trustworthy, effective individuals in Congress or the White House, either.

Like many things in the real, human universe, this is just the best possible system available to accomplish its limited (but critically important) function. It represents "best practice".

Originally Posted by shartley

Besides that, I don't think they could generate enough revenue to actually pay for Government or a fraction of the things they want or even NEED to do. To do that, they would have to put such a high tax on things that in all honesty it may be counter productive.

....... or am I off base?

What really bothers me about the current tax system isn't so much all the taxes we pay in SO many ways, but the fact that it is not FAIR across the board. I would like to see EVERYONE pay the same amount (%) and not make the few pay for the majority.

I would also like to see the budget really looked into and cut all truly unneeded items from it. The problem with the increased deficit with GW was NOT about taxes collected but with the amount spent. They are two different issues but seem to be lumped together for many people.