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Internet sales tax on the horizon???

Totally agree! May have to make purchases sooner, rather than later!
 
Even if the relevant laws are passed today I'm sure there'll be a grace period before everything starts to take effect! I wonder how big of a last minute buying rush internet vendors will get ... :naughty:
 
It would really benefit them if it didn't take effect until Jan. 1. I hope it's not before then.
 
It certainly won't make it to the floor in an election year! :mrgreen:
 
I am so glad I am wrapping up my large purchase next month, I don't even want to think about what it would be with state taxes! :eek:
 
Can someone explain how taxing online consumers will work? Let's say I'm from California and I'm purchasing an item from an online store, who doesn't have a B&M store (fully virtual) but they are headquartered in NY. Will the store then have to write a check to the state of CA for the amount of tax charged from customers over a period of time? What if I'm buying something from Australia or Italy? I'm assuming that this legislation will only affect online stores that are in the U.S. If so, will the bigger companies take their business outside of U.S. (Canada or Mexico) in order to not deal with this legislation and also to attract more customers by stating they do not charge sales tax? If that's the case, will there be more job lost?
 
I wouldn't worry about losing jobs to other countries as a result of internet sales tax legislation. Situating a company outside the US may mean the company can avoid collecting US internet sales tax, but at the same time it'll have to pay or ask its US customers to pay increased cross border shipping costs and any relevant import/export taxes and fees. Not to mention the complications and costs associated with dealing with additional foreign laws and regulations if the company doesn't already have a substantial foreign presence.
 
Well apparently I already pay sales tax on Amazon. I hadn't even noticed.

I guess I don't really mind since technically you're supposed to pay it anyway and we all just don't. I can't really blame them for forcing us to do something we're actually supposed to already be doing. It'll be an extra expense, but it's not going to alter my shopping behavior.
 
Yes, as distracts posted, I am already paying sales tax on many of my online purchases. Amazon, drugstore.com, many of my cycling websites and various other websites. It doesn't really affect my decision to purchase at these sites though if the opportunity to purchase the same item without the sales tax was made available I would certainly choose that online site instead.
 
distracts|1342808720|3237332 said:
Well apparently I already pay sales tax on Amazon. I hadn't even noticed.

I guess I don't really mind since technically you're supposed to pay it anyway and we all just don't. I can't really blame them for forcing us to do something we're actually supposed to already be doing. It'll be an extra expense, but it's not going to alter my shopping behavior.
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I agree. I won't stop shopping online, because it's just too convenient and the selection is tough to beat. I will however try to make all my major purchases before the law goes into effect. I agree with trialnerror though, that I bet it won't go to the floor in an election year!
 
TrialnError|1342762148|3237072 said:
It certainly won't make it to the floor in an election year! :mrgreen:
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I'd bet money on this one! Great thought!

I buy online alllll the time. The tax just doesn't matter much on small purchases. But it does matter on certain others. :naughty:
 
Internet sales are huge and the missing revenue from sales tax has to be substantial. It's just a matter of time before this happens IMO. When is anyone's guess but I'm certain it will be sooner than later. If you have to pay sales tax and shipping on a big ticket, large item (televisions, computers, etc.) it could make a sale at a B&M store more appealing since you wouldn't have to pay shipping. I'm sure B&M retailers will welcome this change as it will level the playing field a bit. Bad for consumers, good for commerce.
 
For all practical purposes it’s already the law. Every state that has a sales tax, also has a ‘use tax’. The rates are identical and the use tax applies to people who buy things from out of the jurisdiction where tax isn’t collected. You’re supposed to file a form and pay up yourself and/or list it on your state annual tax return. Failure to do so can subject you to penalties and interest and they can and do audit this. Check the website for your home state revenuers for your local rules.

What they’re proposing to change is a system to allow the states to effectively act as each other’s agents. I’m in Colorado. If a merchant makes a sale here there are city taxes, county taxes, special tax districts like the buses, state taxes and several others depending on where you are. These overlap and the exact amount of tax owed varies quite a bit depending on the exact address of the transaction. It’s actually pretty complicated. ALL of that money goes to the Colorado Department of Revenue and they divvy it up between the various cities et.al. based on data from the returns that the merchants file. CDR is acting as a collection entity for the cities, the baseball stadium district and the hundreds of other districts in the state. Other states have similar systems in place already. Expanding this to a national system isn’t that hard. There’s only 50 states and only 47 of them have sales tax. It’s actually easier than the existing systems within the states themselves. The tricky part is for one state to make a filing requirement on merchants in another or for a state to share their tax data with someone else (ie other states). It’s a privacy thing. It's a constitution thing.

As I understand it, the solution being proposed is to involve the IRS as the collection agency for ALL of the state sales/use taxes. They will act to the states just like the CDR and others like them are acting towards the counties. They’ve already got jurisdiction over every merchant in the whole country so there’s no privacy issue with the data or with imposing the filing requirements. A merchant selling across state lines will have some online way of figuring out how much tax to collect and will remit it to the IRS with sufficient paperwork that they can route it through to wherever it belongs. Failure to do so will subject the merchant to penalties, as opposed to the current system where the consumer is the one on the hook.

The states are enthusiastically in favor of this. There’s billions of dollars on the table here. Local merchants are all for it too. The existing system is unequal enforcement of the law and unfairly favors out of state merchants. That’s a silly way to run a state.

I agree, it’s inevitable. I don’t even think it’s bad. If sales taxes apply locally, they should apply online, through mail order, telephone sales and whatever venue people want to use to shop. Sales are sales and the taxman shouldn’t favor one over another.
 
Hi DS--I sent you a message on DB about another project I'm working on next. Let me know if you don't get the email!
 
mom2boys|1342992553|3238243 said:
Hi DS--I sent you a message on DB about another project I'm working on next. Let me know if you don't get the email!
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Just got it and sent you message back!
 
I went to look for a thread on this topic, and found this one.

I guess the senate just approved this, and the house is now pending, where Republicans are split.

Hope all is well.

Ira Z.
 
Regular Guy|1367931588|3441889 said:
I guess the senate just approved this, and the house is now pending, where Republicans are split.
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Remember when they used to be the party of "fiscal responsibility" instead of the party of "starve the government"?
 
I wonder if I can talk DH into my last 4 projects that I want to finish (to complete my collection). He would probably kill me but I could save him $$$ on taxes! :bigsmile:
 
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