Slashdot Mirror
Congress Takes Up Online Sales Tax
head_dunce writes "A bill introduced Thursday by a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers seeks to make it easier for states to collect sales taxes stemming from online purchases. Amazon is among the e-retailers supporting the proposal, while a lobbying group representing eBay and Overstock.com stands opposed. From the article: '"Small businesses and states alike are suffering from the inability to collect due -- not new -- taxes from purchases made online," said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., adding the legislation is a "bipartisan, bicameral, common-sense solution that promotes states' rights and levels the playing field for our Main Street businesses."'"
you, and people like you, ARE the problem.
yes, you don't have to pay "sales tax" on online purchases made from out of state merchants... but you DO have to pay a USE TAX. afaik, every state with a sales tax on local purchases also has a corresponding use tax to collect the equivalent amount in use tax on untaxed (or under-taxed) out of state purchases.
use tax may be difficult for states to enforce because there are no reporting requirements (one of the things amazon and other online merchants fought against) -- states don't know how much is owed to them, and by whom; but that does not make paying use tax a voluntary thing. if you and others like you would have paid your use tax on out of state purchases, this would be a non-issue.
use tax is typically either a line item on state income tax returns, a separate single-page form submitted at the end of the year, or if you yourself are required to collect sales tax on your own sales (e.g. businesses), it may be on your sales tax reporting form.
amazon grew to be the size it is by exploiting the fact that people like you are greedy enough to ignore their local sales and use tax laws. now that amazon is so big, and has such a large percentage of the online shopping market, they believe that even if the tax playing field were leveled, they'd still be able to beat local retailers and chain stores... which is why they are finally supporting online sales tax collection.