Washington State Encourages Internet Sales Tax

prostoalex writes "Washington state Governor signed a tax bill encouraging out of state businesses to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Washington state residents. It should be noted, though, that Washington state does not collect personal income tax, and hence relies on state sales tax for 53.1% of its revenues." As the article notes, "People who purchase items from out-of-state Internet or catalog companies are currently supposed to pay the sales tax, but rarely do." Looks like Washington-staters won't be able to fib on their tax returns about internet purchases, starting in 2008.

Comments

Re:Not that it matters but ...

[dreamchaser]

I'm not sure I disagree with you, but to play devil's advocate for a moment one *could* say the sale *does* take place in WA. The buyer makes a purchase from his or her home or workplace which is in the State of WA. The *physical* aspect of making a purchase (in this case clicking 'submit order' or whatever) is taking place in that state.

Governments do have to collect taxes. I actually prefer a sales or VAT tax over any income tax at all.

Again, not saying that I think they should necessarily get away with doing this. I *do* think that the entire tax system and code(s) needs a complete overhaul, not just in light of new technology such as the Internet, but also in light of how convoluted and cumbersome it is overall. Of course the politicos on both sides of the isle mostly like complicated tax codes. Makes it easier for them to bury loopholes for their masters...I mean campaign contributors.

Re:Try a 2-party political system, Washington! Duh

[omeomi]

Tired of paying idiotically high taxes which support the bread and circuses that keep the mindless proles from thinking too hard about how much this sucks? Try electing somebody other than far-left Democrats for a change!

Yeah, because those Republicans are doing such a good job at keeping taxes down. I mean, my Federal income tax has been plummeting over the past 6 years of Republican rule. Oh, wait, no they haven't...they've gone up...and they've been spending way more than they bring in, which means they're only going to continue going up. Huh. Well, at least they're still for "smaller government", right? Oh, wait, no, that's just what they _say_ they're for. They're actually all for rolling back civil liberties and spending way too much...

Re:Not that it matters but ...

[Dun Malg]

I'm not sure I disagree with you, but to play devil's advocate for a moment one *could* say the sale *does* take place in WA. No, you actually can't say that. The law is very clear on this, and predates the internet, having been settled long ago on the issue of mail-order. The sale happens where the money changes hands in exchange for the goods. That location is the business office where they process the credit card transaction, deposit the check, or receive the cash. It doesn't matter if your ass is in a chair on the beach in waikiki or in a barcolounger in cleveland, if you're buying from a guy in Texas, the sale is in Texas.