Sherrod Brown replies to Internet tax bill

@andy77e (5156)
United States
April 24, 2013 3:54pm CST
The following was a reply to a protest on the internet tax bill. In bold: [b]Under current law, internet purchases made across state lines are exempt from taxation at the time of sale. While taxpayers are supposed to report these online purchases on their tax returns, very few actually do so. This puts community businesses at a significant disadvantage relative to large national and international corporations that operate in stores and online. And, as more people make purchases online, state and local governments lose billions of dollars of revenue that could be used to hire local law enforcement, provide emergency services, and maintain common spaces. The Marketplace Fairness Act would allow the state in which a purchaser resides to automatically collect sales tax on remote purchases. To keep this requirement from overburdening individual internet sellers and small internet businesses, small online vendors (under $1 million in annual sales) will not have to collect tax on any goods sold across state lines.[/b] To understand this, what this means is, local companies who have to collect the tax, are at a disadvantage to out of state companies, who don't collect the tax. I knew that when companies started advertising the fact they didn't have to collect tax, that this would usher in a push to tax internet purchases. These dumb companies ruined it for everyone. The moment you openly advertise you are not paying tax, you are asking to get taxed. Further, Mr Brown claims that governments are losing tons of potential tons revenue. Problem is Ohio is having a record year tax revenue wise, at $17.6 Billion dollars. As a reference, in 2008 Ohio collected $8 Billion. Tax revenue despite the economic down turn, is more than double, yet all Brown can think of is how we need to tax more. Worse yet, Brown is only looking at a limited selection of businesses. I've worked for several companies that sell online, and have made huge increases in growth over the past 5 years. Those businesses will be hurt by an a tax, and subsequent loss of out of state sales, more than any business will be helped. Of course the universal losers will be the customers, who are also the tax payers of this massive $17.6 Billion in Ohio State taxes. The same is true of all states. All states will be harmed by this, not helped. This is nothing more than government screwing over the public again.
1 response
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
25 Apr 13
It is not the small community business that are pushing this law, it is the big stores that are backing the law. This is bad law that opens many doors that people may not want opened. If the state can force a business in another state to tax you for purchases made on the Internet can they not also tax you for every purchase you make in another state. Can not the state where the business is located not also tax you for the purchase so that you pay taxes twice on the same item? In Article 1 Section 9 of the US Constitution it states: "No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State." and in Article 1 Section 10 it further states that: "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." http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am11 Is not this a violation of the Constitution for a state to impose a tax on an item that is being exported to your state for you? What happens if those Internet business move out of the country and ship the items to you as a gift?
• United States
25 Apr 13
Bob, why do you think Amazon is building new warehousing in Europe, and losing millions doing so? In other parts of the world they are charging people money to come into stores, and if you purchase something you get your money back.
@andy77e (5156)
• United States
26 Apr 13
Regardless of what companies may or may not do in other parts of the world, taxing the American public more, is not going to solve anything.