US Senate May Move to Enact Internet Sales Tax
US Senate May Move to Enact Internet Sales Tax
Posted 04/12/2011 at 2:36pm
| by Ryan Whitwam
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According to Cnet, one US Senator is preparing to introduce legislation that would radically alter online commerce. The bill would end the ability of Americans to buy goods from online retailers free from state sales tax. Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois is expected to present the bill shortly after the Easter recess.
Under current law, if an online retailer does not have a physical presence in a state, buyers do not have to pay the sales tax at the time of purchase. Durbin contends this is an unfair advantage. "Why should out-of-state companies that sell their products online have an unfair advantage over Main Street bricks-and-mortar businesses?" Durbin said in February.
The prospect of an internet sales tax is likely to rattle online retailers. It's not just the price competition, but the laws from one place to the next vary widely. There are about 7,500 different taxing jurisdictions in the US, many with their own regulations. Big sites like Amazon, and smaller independent sites would need to keep track of these rules. Do you think Internet sales tax is an inevitability?
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bling581
April 13, 2011 at 9:53am
It's amazing how many ways the government and corporations will try to use to squeeze more money out of us. I'm 26 now and by the time I'm at retirement age there will be no such thing and we'll work until we drop dead.
Thoren
April 13, 2011 at 8:11am
GE, safely under protection from the elected officials and with cabinet postions, DOESN'T PAY A DIME of corporate income tax on their profits of $14,200,000,000 last year. SOMEBODY will have to make up that lost revenue. Might as well be the stupid slaves.
kris79
April 13, 2011 at 8:02am
This is why voting for even a dead Republican is better than voting for a live Democrat. At least one of them can't hurt you. Join me to get rid of every single one of these nitwits who think that they deserve what you have. And, by God, they're going to take it. And take it. And take it. I say - let's give it to them - right in the chops... in the voting booth where it hurts the most.
Carlidan
April 13, 2011 at 9:46pm
Please keep voting for the Republicans. Just don't get mad when they start taxing you because they need to increase revenue. Because as you can see, they won't tax the rich. So guess who has to pony up?
szore
April 13, 2011 at 5:02am
Got to pay for the welfare somehow, right? And all that money raised will go right to China... as interest payments...
brotherj
April 13, 2011 at 4:51am
I wonder if they'll make this stick for downloaded content as well. One step closer to "air tax".
I wish it were like here in Germany: The tax is already in the price. No guesswork, no heading to register with just enough in my pocket hoping the tax doesn't force me to put something back. Most important...you forget the tax is even there. That's quite a feat for a country with a 19% (yes NINETEEN PERCENT) sales tax.
Jack the Pilot
April 12, 2011 at 10:49pm
They just want to tax and spend tax and spend. Why not consider the right to purchase tax free items from whom and where I choose. I am an old man and remember when sales tax first began, it was to pay the troops after WW2 their mustering out bonuses. Well all of the veterans from that war have all been paid their bonus and still the tax goes on and up.
I don’t mind paying taxes but I do hate to see the way my tax money is squandered away. Giving it to illegals and other non deserving individuals. So if I can beat em out of a tax all the better.
schmoe
April 12, 2011 at 9:20pm
they keep trying to pass this off as the "internet tax" but it has nothing to do with the internet....its called INTERSTATE COMMERCE and its been tax-free for what, a century at least if not forever in this country...the democrat party and their shills in the media want to act like we've been getting away with something on the internet these past 15 years or so when the truth is they want to change what has been the law for as long as i've been alive at least...they think they own you and your labor and your money and your property...
compro01
April 14, 2011 at 9:03am
The internet has never been tax free. This is not a federal tax, nor is it a new tax, this is federal enforcement of state sales taxes.
If you buy something from out of state, be it online or via a catalog or any other means and have it shipped to you, you're supposed to pay your state's sales tax on it. If you've looked at your tax forms, there's a box for you those purchases if your state has a sales tax.
As you'd expect, because retailers are not required to withhold that tax (if they don't have operations in the state in question.), practically no one actually pays that tax.
Carlidan
April 14, 2011 at 11:53am
Funny part most people still don't get it. As you explained, it's not a new tax but a tax that already exist. They just want to enforce it.
mls067
April 12, 2011 at 9:01pm
that is exacly why I didn't vote for Durbin. Illinois politics at its finest!!
copterguy
April 12, 2011 at 8:56pm
Corrupt Socialists infect the Senate. It wont pass the house. The left is always looking for more of your money to buy votes. Those unions are a gettin more expensive these days.
Carlidan
April 13, 2011 at 9:59pm
You complain about everything but how do you expect the goverment to pay for the services you want? Out of thin air? Do you think people in governement work for free? Do I agree with this internet tax, no but they have to tax someone for services we want. I for one want to tax the rich because if they are so patriotic , they won't mind giving more money to help benifit our nation because giving tax breaks doesn't seem to help unemployment as was the reason for the tax breaks.
eikichi
April 12, 2011 at 8:53pm
If online retailers are to collect state sales tax for online purchases which state gets the money? Do you collect tax for the state the purchaser resides in? Do you collect tax for the state the retailer is selling or shipping from? Do you only collect tax from US customers? What's to stop non-US customers from buying and reselling to US customers through online auction sites? Does this only apply to US based online retailers? If you collect sales tax from non-US customers then where does that tax money go?
If online retailers are to collect sales tax and charge shipping rates will customers continue to purchase online instead of buying locally and saving shipping charges? If sales tax is collected for the customers state then what incentive is there for states to try to draw online retailers to have a presence in their state when they won't be collecting most of the taxes for that businesses sales? Who defines what online sales need to collect sales tax? Are people who have online storefronts through services such as eBay.com and Etsy.com going to need to register for tax IDs and start collecting sales tax?
If online retailers must collect sales tax on all online purchases, plus pay for shipping, will online retailers be forced to lower their prices/profit margins in order to retain customers? Won't this ultimately cause many smaller online retailers to go out of business or larger retailers to swallow them up?
If only US based online retailers are to collect sales tax won't that drive online purchases to retailers from other countries? How is that helping the US economy?
Do they even consider these questions? Do the lawmakers proposing this bill only buy goods from local brick-and-mortar stores and not understand the larger impact that this will have?
Why not eliminate sales tax all-together and come up with a more fair, standardized, and modern way to replace this form of state income. Reminds me of the idea of taxing emails. Is the idea here "if it's broke, push harder"?
compro01
April 14, 2011 at 9:09am
If online retailers are to collect state sales tax for online purchases which state gets the money? Do you collect tax for the state the purchaser resides in? Do you collect tax for the state the retailer is selling or shipping from? Do you only collect tax from US customers? What's to stop non-US customers from buying and reselling to US customers through online auction sites? Does this only apply to US based online retailers? If you collect sales tax from non-US customers then where does that tax money go?
1. the state the purchaser lives in
2. see #1
3. no
4. yes
5. nothing
6. I would presume they would do the same thing as they do up here in Canada and bake the taxes from out-of-country purchases into the customs duties.
7. they're not, so moot point.
Why not eliminate sales tax all-together and come up with a more fair, standardized, and modern way to replace this form of state income
Ask your state government about that.
AnglicDemon00
April 12, 2011 at 8:40pm
As much as I hate paying taxes as the next guy. It is an evil that needs be done. After all if it were not for taxes a lot of the services we take for granted like welfare, SS, and medicare to name a few would be gone. Though as far as this goes I think they should stick with a physical store pressence as a means for taxing, and for out of state ordering, there should just be a flat tax rate of maybe betwee 4-6%.
eikichi
April 12, 2011 at 9:03pm
Welfare - Federally funded
Social Security - Federally funded
Medicare - Federally funded
None of these services would be affected by locally collected state sales tax.
Carlidan
April 13, 2011 at 10:08pm
And you don't think state's have their own services that need to be funded? Yes, even states have to pay services that we want. We vote for these services in the ballot box but we expect them to be free.
ShyLinuxGuy
April 12, 2011 at 8:27pm
I buy some stuff from Amazon. I live in WA, and if you don't know, Amazon has headquarters here. I pay tax. I'm fine with that.
Now, I also buy some stuff from Newegg. Newegg's HQ is in Cali. I (would have to) pay tax. I do not live in Cali. Not fine with that. No tax revenue should be made if there isn't a physical presence of a company in which the packages are being shipped to. Just chalk it up to the fact that some shoppers are smart and evade this tax, and this is legal tax evasion. Encourage said company with high sales to set up shop in your state is the only legit thing to do.
btw, I get tempted to head down to Portland Oregon if gas wouldn't offset the savings from not paying tax. Rumor has it in WA that the state patrol is watching the WA-OR I-5 border for tax evaders, if that's true, it's a waste of money and resources and really stupid. How dehumanizing would it be to an officer to stand there for a few hours, feeling more like a mall cop, looking for someone who loaded up on stuff from OR stores to avoid tax when he or she could be doing something more useful, like nabbing the assholes who swerve all over the freeway maybe?
Marthian
April 12, 2011 at 8:22pm
Great. already trying to be budget concious, this isn't helping. I changed my mind about buying from Tigerdirect because I was charged at least $10 in tax for my order, making it better to buy elsewhere. $10 might be small change, but I still consider a penny saved is a penny earned.
That said, I am starting to wonder if states are going to secede from the Union soon.
aarcane
April 12, 2011 at 7:14pm
If there MUST be an internet sales tax, it should be a single, nation wide flat rate, independent of where the items are sold from or to, and should supercede all locality taxes. it should be lower than our highest state taxes and higher than our lowest state taxes. I'd personally set a rate of 5% and be done with it.
Thoren
April 13, 2011 at 8:06am
That's the GD problem, there doesn't "need" to be a sales tax on online purchases at all. It's hurting brick and mortar stores? Who gives a shit. Times change. Maybe those brick and mortar stores need to change and adapt of stop existing. Wanting things to stay the same is a fantasy, not the reality. We're already one of the heaviest taxed nations in the world, and these fcuktards in Washington want to keep piling on and piling on and piling on. People of IL: vote that dispicable piece of crap out of office.
jedisamurai
April 12, 2011 at 6:43pm
Not being charged taxes is actually a bad thing, because a greater portion of your income goes directly into the pockets of corporations who then hoard it, rather than to States which then spend it on project to improve the life of you, the person who lives there (includng the poor and underpriviledged who are the first to be victimized by said corporations).
I'm all for sales tax on the Internet. That's just playing fair.
warptek2010
April 12, 2011 at 11:16pm
I am trying to hold myself back from calling you any names. Let's just stick to facts here, shall we? You know not what you spew'eth. You're all for giving Uncle Sam a dollar, let's say. Then you must be for getting 0.38 cents back on that dollar then? What happens to other 0.62 cents? It's called waste, fraud, corruption, mismanagement, paying back an already impossible to pay back 14 TRILLION DOLLAR DEBT, government greed, That is a really efficient use of your money, wouldn't you say? Since you think they can be trusted with more money, let's just BE FAIR and give them more of it. So here's an idea, write a check to the government since you think it is such a good investment. Since you make all that money and others are not so fortunate. Afterall, It's only fair.
Carlidan
April 13, 2011 at 10:16pm
We are in debt because we don't want to pay for anything. It's not waste, fraud, corruption, mismanagement that is the real culprit of our debt. It's a small fraction. It's every american who's to blame. We want all these social programs and services but we are not willing to pay for it. So instead on taxing people who can afford to be taxed, we started borrowing from other countries to balance the budget. Nobody wants to get real. Taxes keep goverment running because just like any business you have to pay your employees because they WILL not work for free.
warptek2010
April 14, 2011 at 4:21pm
Oh, I see... it's not the people we elect who are to blame... IT'S OUR FAULT cause we're cheap. YOU Get the fuck real. It is this exact mindset we have to fight against. It is OUR GOVT that is to blame. We elect politicians who think that going to Washington is a free for all with other peoples money so they can stay in power and get re-elected. Those so called Social Services you cite "that we all want but don't want to pay for" are the incremental ways politicians stay in power and in the process grow and grow govt while all the while getting farther and farther away from the original articles and intent.
So I guess you haven't noticed that spending each and every year goes up. For some odd reason, it never EVER stays the same as last years spending budget, or ever goes back to 2008 spending levels like the Repubs want to currently do (but instead according to Democrats, hate old people and children). Dude, when you take people from one segment of the population and give it to another segment of the population (redistribution of wealth) Creating a dependancy class, IT'S ALL WASTE, MISAMANAGEMENT AND FRAUD.
Carlidan
April 14, 2011 at 4:37pm
Dude you get fucking real. You keep saying it's because of corruption,wate, and mismanagement yet you don't cite evidence to support your claim. How much does it account for the overall debt? I would probably say maybe 1% or even lesser than that. Most of it is services we want but not willing to pay for. Just a hunch.
Danthrax66
April 12, 2011 at 6:03pm
You can't charge sales tax if I buy something from a different country.
schmoe
April 12, 2011 at 9:33pm
i used to ship stuff into Canada 20 years ago and they got hosed big time....most of my customers had relatives and friends on the U.S. side near the border and they'd have me drop ship to them and they drive it over the border themselves, avoiding the customs...
as the dems have insatiable desire for other folks' money dont be surprised if thats next....buy something from China and have a big fat bill waiting for you with UPS or USPS...it never ends...
Sparx10
April 12, 2011 at 8:55pm
Knowing the US government, those damn idiots will think their new laws apply everywhere on the internet. Sadly, that is NOT the case (but they continue to think so).
I Jedi
April 12, 2011 at 4:49pm
I am having a bit of a hard time understanding how the Senate, not the House, is managing to put into legislation for a tax bill when Article 1, section 7 of the Constitution clearly states the following
"All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills." and, "The House, directly elected by the people, received authority to originate all tax bills. The Senate, however, can amend a tax bill, and the support of both houses is necessary for the bill to become law."In other words, all revenue and budget proposals must come through the House first before it can be carried onto the Senate. Perhaps I am missing something, or is this perhaps some sort of bipartisanship with House members on the republican side to garner support for such an online tax?
Maktaka
April 12, 2011 at 5:12pm
Simple, this bill has no effect whatsover on federal funding, nor does it create any new taxes at the state level. You are legally obligated to pay those use taxes on your Amazon purchases because Amazon fails to collect the sales tax. The fact that you (and I) do not technically exposes us to a state-level "IRS" audit (whatever the state-level agency for tax collection is called in your state), assuming of course your state has a sales tax. This bill only obliges online retailers to collect the sales tax so that the customer is not put in a legally actionable position (and that is a very fun phrase to use).
I Jedi
April 12, 2011 at 5:53pm
So, are you suggesting that Congress is regulating commerce amongst the states in Article 1, Section 8 by means of collecting taxes through borders? (state lines)
Danthrax66
April 12, 2011 at 6:02pm
Basically he is just letting you know what everyone else already knows the government fucking hates the people.
warptek2010
April 12, 2011 at 11:05pm
You hit the nail on the head. Not only hates, but they have utter disdain for the non-ruling class. Remember a time when our govt actually HELPED us citizens achieve the American Dream? (And by "Helped" I mean they got the fuck out of our way. Not by giving us a handout) Now, they actively participate in keeping it just that... A DREAM. Just as we find a way to keep SOME of our money, they move to close what they see as a loophole. The time is coming where We The People have had enough of this crap. As far as I'm concerned, that Republican co-sponsor is an asshole and should be thrown out on his ass in the next election. Problem is, you might be replacing crap, with the mold that grows on crap.
Carlidan
April 13, 2011 at 10:20pm
You think that will be the last republican to vote for this. Guess again, because any level headed polictian knows that they have to get revenue from somewhere. You think revenue just generates itself?
Danthrax66
April 13, 2011 at 10:01am
What is playing out in America is pretty similar to what Marx predicted would happen to society in the communists manifesto. Not that I think socialism would fix any problems I'm just pointing out that he was sort of right about some things.
Landstander
April 12, 2011 at 4:30pm
In the end, taxes hurt overall revenue streams to the government since they destroy business. This idea is HS. Hopefully, the House will be able to block it.
I Jedi
April 12, 2011 at 4:55pm
The House can't block it, seeing as how the House is beneath the Senate in terms of how far a bill has progressed along its way to becoming law. The only chance this bill will be modified by the House is through a conference committee of both House and Senate members to decide on the final bill before being sent off to the president.
Honestly, though, I'm not too sure how the Senate has managed to get a bill for laying and collecting taxes when Article 1, Section 7 of thee U.S. Constitution clearly states all bills for budget and taxes shall originate in the House itself. My guess is that this is going to be a bipartisanship effort, in which the U.S. Senator, whoever he/she is that wants this, will work with House members to get this through the House. With the republicans in control of the House, I doubt that this bill will go very far, unless some sort of concessions are made.
Maktaka
April 12, 2011 at 5:07pm
Do people read the blooming articles anymore or just the summary?
"A possible co-sponsor is Sen. Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican who backed a similar proposal before and did not respond to a request for comment. (See related update below.)"
And then we check the update and wow!
Update 10:30 a.m. PT: I've heard back from Sen. Mike Enzi's office. It sent me e-mail this morning saying: "Senator Enzi plans to co-sponsor the Main Street Fairness bill with Senator Durbin. As far as a timeline or drafts, you'll have to check with Senator Durbin's office."
I Jedi
April 12, 2011 at 6:00pm
So, instead of a co-signer, shouldn't this be headed for the Joint Committee on Taxation for policy changing? I don't see why a bill needs to be passed through the Senate when the law already states that a tax is already suppose to be imposed? This sounds like a simple revision in regulations can get companies to start charging customers for online sales taxes.
mrl1007
April 12, 2011 at 4:16pm
yeah this would definitley hurt online shopping and i'd hate to pay taxes online since that is where i do most of my shopping but then again the government definitley needs to find a way to get out of this debt. they can only make so many people happy. money sadly makes the world go round.
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