Fed Internet Sales Taxes

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Patrick W. Gilmore" <patrick () ianai net>
> Date: May 21, 2008 10:31:42 AM EDT
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> Cc: "Patrick W. Gilmore" <patrick () ianai net>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Internet Sales Taxes

> I hear this a lot and I always wonder: Will they tax 800-number orders
> as well?  They are the same thing, just two ways to get a company to
> mail you a product.  The "web" is just a way to remove the human
> operator from a mail order service.
>
> If not, I think I'll start using 800 numbers again, which will cost
> the businesses a lot of $$.
>
> --
> TTFN,
> patrick
>
>
>
> On May 21, 2008, at 10:11 AM, David Farber wrote:
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: Robert Atkinson <rca53 () columbia edu>
> > > Date: May 21, 2008 10:07:38 AM EDT
> > > To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> > > Subject: For IP: Internet Sales Taxes
> > >
> > > Dave,
> > >
> > > A call in Wall St. Journal for imposing sales taxes on internet
> > > commerce:
> > >
> > > http://online.wsj.com/article/portals.html
> > >
> > > Excerpts:
> > >
> > > Real World Needs 'Net' Taxes
> > > May 21, 2008; Page B9
> > >
> > > Do you think that billionaire Internet moguls should continue to
> > > benefit from a tax loophole that hurts parks and schools, and makes
> > > it harder for your neighborhood bookstore to keep open for business?
> > >
> > > I didn't think you did.
> > >
> > > ***
> > >
> > > For starters, by giving online businesses a permanent advantage
> > > over their bricks-and-mortar competitors, it helps those who need
> > > it least -- huge, profitable e-commerce companies -- at the expense
> > > of often-struggling local retailers.
> > >
> > > In addition, the tax policy is regressive. It disproportionately
> > > benefits the upscale citizens most likely to shop online. Worst of
> > > all, as commerce increasingly moves online, state and local
> > > governments are being deprived of the sales-tax revenues they rely
> > > on to run schools, build roads, pay police and firefighters, and do
> > > all the other things they're supposed to do.
> > >
> > > A dozen years ago, one might have been able to make the case that a
> > > holiday on collecting sales tax would help the fledgling Internet
> > > get off the ground. I don't think that was particularly true even
> > > in 1996; it certainly isn't now.
> > >
> > > ***
> > >
> > > Opponents of the tax collection are fond of the effective but
> > > dishonest slogan that collecting a sales tax would amount to a new
> > > "tax on the Internet." But making Amazon collect sales tax on books
> > > is no more "taxing the Internet" than requiring stores to collect
> > > taxes on Valentine's Day chocolates amounts to "taxing falling in
> > > love."
> > Archives



-------------------------------------------
Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com