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E-commerce Sites to Collect Sales Taxes Nationwide
aengblom writes "An agreement between 38 states and some of the nation's largest retailers is bringing taxes to the net, The Washington Post reports. In return for collecting taxes for all U.S. sales, the retailers would not be held liable for taxes they 'failed' to collect previously. Best quote: 'If we disclose who these companies are, it's like putting a target on their back.' The Post reports that Wal-Mart, Marshall Fields, Target, Toys R Us and Mervyn's have all 'independently' announced plans to collect taxes nation-wide." Internetnews.com has a story about the taxes and an article claiming it won't hurt online sales.
No, they don't. If tax breaks were about stimulating the economy, they would be directed at the low end of the income distribution--people likely to spend the extra money.
Instead, the administration gives huge tax breaks to the wealthy and introduces new sales taxes that hurt spending but make some special interests happy.
Internet's sales rising nearly exponentially each year
Of course, Internet sales are rising "exponentially"--your bank account with 0.5% interest also is "rising exponentially". Most things that grow grow exponentially, some just do it faster than others.
No, they don't. If tax breaks were about stimulating the economy, they would be directed at the low end of the income distribution--people likely to spend the extra money.
That's a dumbass point of view. Do you really think that someone buying 10 more happy meals helps McDonalds, Inc. more than someone buying 10,000 shares of their stock?