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Ask HN: Congress is Passing an Internet Sales Tax: Why Doesn't HN Care?

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Re: Ask HN: Congress is Passing an Internet Sales Tax: Why Doesn't HN Care?

#111
the government can create all the money it needs to fund itself. It does not need to take it from taxpayers. The entire purpose of the tax code is not to raise money but to control the wage slaves.

http://www.naturalnews.com/040027_financial_slavery_money_in...

Re: Ask HN: Congress is Passing an Internet Sales Tax: Why Doesn't HN Care?

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's a wonder common sense has held out as long as it has. > I don't want a level playing field. If you explicitly advocate that some businesses should be treated more favorably than others with respect to taxation, even if they are selling the same goods to the same customers, fine. But the opposite point of view is surely not "bullshit".

The bullshit part is trying to apply a geographic model of governance and taxation onto a technology that is location-independent. It has nothing to do with treating businesses one way or the other. Politicians want to view economic data as somehow being "owned" by a county, state, or country. So they make policies that are supposed to manage (for lack of a better word) commerce inside those boundaries. But we don't…

I strongly disagree with your argument that internet sales taxes fall disproportionately on the poor. I suspect that it's inaccurate, and even if it is accurate, it seems fair to impose the same sales taxes on the same goods, without regard to how they are sold.

However, you do make several valid and important points here, which you neglected to make in your original post.

HN is a well-trafficked website. It is not out of the question that legislators, or at least business owners in their district, read the commentary here. Imagine that a legislator read your top comment that "I don't care about a level playing field", dismissing the idea as if it were obviously stupid. Would this legislator conclude that we are rational and sensible people, who understand the issues involved and are proposing something reasonable and fair for all parties?

He or she would probably conclude that we are just another selfish special interest group, defending our unfair special treatment because... because... um, I guess, because taking it away is "bullshit"?

Re: Ask HN: Congress is Passing an Internet Sales Tax: Why Doesn't HN Care?

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. Companies with a physical presence in a state are required to collect sales taxes from buyers for all sales in the state. Businesses are not required to collect sales taxes for states where they have no presence (aka nexus); this is based on the Quill v North Dakota interpretation of the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. The problem with the proposed legislation is that counties, cities, and towns can ea…

> Companies with a physical presence in a state are required to collect sales taxes from buyers for all sales in the state. Businesses are not required to collect sales taxes for states where they have no presence (aka nexus); this is based on the Quill v North Dakota interpretation of the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution. Specifically, its based on a Dormant Commerce Clause interpretation, to-wit, that States…

Only commenting on the last point. He's referring to the previous proposal from the final years of the Bush administration wherein Congress would have passed an internet sales tax if the various states (mostly meaning Cali and NY) would have agreed to simplify their taxation structures ahead of such legislation. The idea was that states would set their sales tax at one of several fixed rates (i.e., 5%, 7.5%, 10% etc) subsuming county/city sales taxes into the state tax rate. Counties and cities would receive their proportionate shares (though the mechanism for determining shares was never discussed in depth).

The proposal actually received a lot of discussion among policy makers, but then got dropped when it became clear that state legislatures wouldn't go through the trouble of reforming their sales taxes without Congress first passing the legislation.

Re: Ask HN: Congress is Passing an Internet Sales Tax: Why Doesn't HN Care?

#116
post #111

the government can create all the money it needs to fund itself. It does not need to take it from taxpayers. The entire purpose of the tax code is not to raise money but to control the wage slaves. http://www.naturalnews.com/040027_financial_slavery_money_in...

This is an insult to actual slaves.
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