Write Your Congressman -- They want to Tax Your Email!!!

[chequita guevara]

Property taxes and progressive incomes taxes are good taxes, as are luxery taxes.

[Japher]

Luxury taxes are good, but the should be implimented on goods over a certain value not on the good itself or on salaries. Progressive income taxes and property taxes are good as well, but should not be taxed as a luxury, income, or sale (when applicable) as well.

I hate double taxation.

[ixnay]

Originally posted by gunkulator
Those of us who live in a state with no sales tax have this to say:


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! suckers!

Hooray for Montana! (We just have income & property taxes)

[Giancarlo]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Why shouldn't transactions over the internet be taxed?

Typical commie.

I will become a tax evader if this passes.... or ask the government for special priveleges which I'll probably get because my dad works for them.. so no problem with me.

[Imran Siddiqui]

The way it works is if the company has a realworld location of their store in your state, you pay sales taxes on purchases delivered to that state. Only completely internet based companies (either independents like amazon, or an independent subsidary like barnes&noble online) get out of sales tax. So if I buy a DVD from target online and have it shipped to my brother I have to pay Tennesse sales tax, in addition to shipping (and if you buy from oldnavy.com you have to pay sales tax on shipping).

Well they have to find a way to charge the sales tax. It is easy to see where the package is going and charge the % of that place. It probably could be done the opposite way (charging sales tax from the state of the buyer) as well... but in that case, you may have a credit card from another residence, which doesn't represent your residence.

[Starchild]

I'm vaguely sure that here in Europe, I already pay sales tax on stuff I buy over the net....I remember a few UK websites saying they include VAT (17.5% so shut up your whining Americans :-) ) in their prices.

[korn469]

Well they have to find a way to charge the sales tax

Why? As mentioned in this thread, some states don't have a sales tax at all, and in many states they don't charge taxes on services like car washes, or hair cuts, or even food in some states. So why should people pay sales taxes on matrix:reloaded DVD from amazon, when they didn't pay sales taxes on movie tickets to see it in the theater back in April? I thought you were a republican Imran!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Why? As mentioned in this thread, some states don't have a sales tax at all

Because they have to pay for the services they provide. If some states don't choose to provide those services, that's their choice.

So why should people pay sales taxes on matrix:reloaded DVD from amazon, when they didn't pay sales taxes on movie tickets to see it in the theater back in April?

Why would you pay sales tax for a DVD if you don't have to pay sales tax for movies? Or are you unaware that the 'taxes' of a movie ticket are a part of the price?

I thought you were a republican Imran!

Yes, but I'm not a crazy Republican .

[korn469]

Why would you pay sales tax for a DVD if you don't have to pay sales tax for movies? Or are you unaware that the 'taxes' of a movie ticket are a part of the price?

In virginia movie tickets are considered a service and they aren't taxed, though a new bill is trying to change that.

Yes, but I'm not a crazy Republican

LoL, this is a first...

Imran, the Tax and Spend Republican prototype

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Q Cubed

if they can start taxing every packet of data your computer sends out, they'll have to know who sent that data and who received it.

I'm not the most computer-literate person in the world, but wouldn't that just be a gargantuan task? Just how large would the Packet Tax Database be after 1 day? 1 year?

[Kuciwalker]

The IRS has PLENTY of extra torture chambers

[The Mad Monk]

It wouldn't be federal-level. It would be states and municipalities, taxing packets that went through nodes physically located within their boundaries.

Yes, that means if a packet went through five states, it could be taxed five times.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Why shouldn't transactions over the internet be taxed?

Hope you're not looking for any jobs related to e-commerce.

The tax collection of sales taxes is by forcing sellers to become agents for the taxing authorities in their states.

With a physical storefront in California, I generally don't have to worry about becoming an unpaid, involuntary tax collector for more than the California State Board of Equalization. Other states can "require" me to collect taxes for them if I sell to citizens in that other state, but they can only enforce that requirement if I meet jurisdictional requirements. Merely receiving mail or shipping an item to that other state doesn't create personal jurisdiction over me.

With an internet storefront, I can be deemed to be advertising and carrying out commerce in every state, and thus be forced to become an unpaid involuntary tax collector for every state that has a sales tax. And for those counties which have supplemental sales taxes. If California decides anything I sell from my California storefront, whether online or not, is subject to California sales tax unless my buyer has a valid seller's permit for that class of item, they can do that. As Vermont can tax anything I sell virtually there, even if my buyer is also forced to pay California sales taxes.

There are no set rules on jurisdiction over internet activities, and there is no bar, except a practical one, on multiple states imposing multiple sales taxes on the same item, depending on where it's sold and the residence of the buyer.

It creates a potential huge competitive disadvantage for internet businesses that deal in tangible goods, and no particular state has any incentive to stop it - if they kill some businesses in their state, but collect taxes from businesses in every state, why not? And if they create an obstacle to their citizens buying items online, well then, they'll just have to go to their local retailer, and who cares if they pay more, we'll still get our taxes, and our state chamber of commerce will be grateful and donate to our election campaigns.

[MikeH]

We already have to pay VAT (sales tax) on internet purchases in the UK. Always have had to. You have to pay tax on whatever you buy, doesn't matter where it is.

[The Mad Monk]

How effective are they at collecting?