Internet Sales Taxes

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat net>
> Date: May 21, 2008 11:13:24 AM EDT
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>, ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Internet Sales Taxes

> At 08:11 AM 5/21/2008, Robert Atkinson wrote:
>
> > 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?
>
> Actually, it is "big box" retailers and "category killers" which are  
> most in favor of sales taxes on Internet commerce. Why? Because such  
> taxes make it more difficult to escape the grip of these large,  
> downtown-decimating national chains by ordering from smaller  
> businesses that set up shop on the Web.
>
> As these large corporations turn downtowns into ghost towns, small  
> retail businesses stand to be put out of business by the big guys  
> unless they are able to reach out to the world via the Net, tapping  
> a larger customer base than is likely to exist in a small town or  
> even many small to moderate-sized cities.
>
> The large, national chains, on the other hand, already have a  
> physical presence in every state and thus must already charge sales  
> taxes even when they sell via the Web. Obviously, they don't like  
> the edge that this gives to the small businesses they'd love to put  
> out of business -- and, hence, want to eliminate that small but  
> crucial advantage.
>
> In short, taxing e-commerce favors the big guys such as Wal-Mart and  
> Barnes and Noble, which is why these and other very large,  
> nationwide chains are the strongest and most vociferous advocates of  
> it.
>
> --Brett Glass



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