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Evolution Of The Online Tax Debate
rhwalker22 writes "Last November, the Streamlined Sales Tax Project drafted a plan to make it easier for states to cooperate in collecting sales taxes on products sold over the Internet. That plan is now headed to governors and state legislatures for debate.
While that debate begins, the sales tax group is moving into new territory, debating how to apply sales taxes to digital services, like music and software downloads, and IP telephony. Most states participating in the sales tax project have sent representatives to Tampa, Fla., this week to take up this subject, according to a report by washingtonpost.com."
Why even tax the internet? After about 5 years of e-commerce being popular, we have seen the market take off. It started off with some bumps, but after the bubble burst, and all of the stupid dot-com companies died out, we were left with many legitimate e-commerce sites that were pulling in a large profit. Rather than law-makers seeing this as a sign that maybe low taxes are good, they see this as an opportunity to tax further. If law-makers truly believe that internet commerce is hindering their states because it is so cheap, then they should lower taxes in their state rather than trying to levy taxes on the internet.
It's kind of like two kids. One is very gifted and one is just regular intelligence. If you want to help the regular kid, you should spend extra time with him and help him. You should not try to force the gifted kid to act dumb.
To keep governments honest in delivering value to their constituents, states should be forced to compete in offering low cost of doing business. If taxes climb too high, then the goverment isn't doing it's job well, businesses leave, the economy suffers, and the people vote the government out of office. This is the best mechanism we have for keeping governments accountable to the people -- just as companies have to offer value to their customers, and to their shareholders.
Taxing across state borders is unjust and just plain stupid. We have enough barriers to trade around the world. Let's not start *within* our own country.
Hmm, good point.
After all, if it were possible to create unconstitutional legislation, we'd have suspects being indefinitely detained without trial, copyrights that last forever... why, it doesn't bear thinking about!
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
That would be the point. What's wrong with private schools and toll-roads? What's the betting that they'd be both better and cheaper than the current state provisioned systems.
The state budgets are trashed because they spend too fscking much on prisons. We need to retool our legal system (especially the drug laws) so that we dont fill our prisons with people who got cought with a tiny bag of weed. I'm not suggesting legalization, though that would be nice. I'm suggesting maybe first offenders get community service, a big fine and probation.
Also, toll ways are bad. They were designed to allow the roads to be built, but when the road is paid off they still charge you. They keep charging you because the beurocracy of the toll way doesn't want to lose its' jobs.
Moderators: This is my opinion and I don't care If I get modded down for it; I've hit the Karma cap.
Help I'm a rock.