51–60 of 83 posts
A straightforward solution would be for the US to have a uniform online sales tax, distributed to the state of the shipping address. Is this intractable?
I'm curious, in states that have this, how does it work? Is it all online sellers that did not previously collect sales tax or just a few big ones like amazon? Does it show-up on your shopping cart directly or do you have to do forms quarterly say?
I keep all my receipts for the year and split them between tax paid and not. I pay taxes on all of the online purchases I make during the year. Most people I know, even in states that require collection of taxes for online purchases, don't claim any at the end of the year. Given that out of state companies are under no compulsion to report purchases to state governments, there simply isn't a whole lot of way for states to know whether the information is accurate except through state tax agency audits.
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The problem is taxes are incredibly complicated. There are companies that do "tax as a service"[1]. Governments should pass tax laws in some sort of industry standard tax rules specification[2]. This way, companies and the open source world can write rules engines to process taxes and online stores can pick among the competitors, not having to worry about the complexities themselves. Costs are reduced, competition in…
That's basically the Marketplace Fairness Act, which is the most likely "internet sales tax" bill to pass in the near future. http://www.marketplacefairness.org/ It requires each state that wants to collect from foreign sellers to provide a uniform state-wide sales tax policy, a single organization in each state to handle registrations/filings/audits, and free tax compliance software. It also builds a mechanism to ce…
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If you walk into Bestbuy and show them the item you intend to purchase from Amazon, they'll match the price. With taxes, and assuming you don't have to drive out of your way, this can be more convenient than Amazon. If you need something overnight, it's actually cheaper than Amazon.
Depending on your work or living situation, that might not be more convenient. I'm in SF with no car, and I wouldn't even consider going to Best Buy.
Of course if the price is right...
The push to tax Amazon is so online and brick-and-mortars are treated equally in a tax sense. Yet the states that have enacted taxes on Amazon, do not collect taxes unanimously from all businesses selling online within their borders. It seems to me that states need to find a new method to treat all online sales equally as well, and not separate Amazon into its own tax bracket. Is each company that faces a legislature…
VAT works fine once you have the infrastructure in place.
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That's basically the Marketplace Fairness Act, which is the most likely "internet sales tax" bill to pass in the near future. http://www.marketplacefairness.org/ It requires each state that wants to collect from foreign sellers to provide a uniform state-wide sales tax policy, a single organization in each state to handle registrations/filings/audits, and free tax compliance software. It also builds a mechanism to ce…
For true fairness there needs to be a single organization nationally that can collect and process the tax. 50 different filings is an unduly onerous and inefficient hurdle for setting up shop.
They calculate and file your returns for you. They get paid a commission directly by the states for facilitating it, so they're free to businesses.
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Depending on your work or living situation, that might not be more convenient. I'm in SF with no car, and I wouldn't even consider going to Best Buy.
I've often had the problem of not being home during the day, and post offices closing early, so hitting a store would be easier for me in some cases. Of course if the price is right...
The biggest sales uptick -- 61 percent for big-ticket items -- went to merchants that use Amazon Marketplace...That means Amazon still indirectly benefits, since it collects a fee from merchants on its marketplace. Not sure why they buried this at the end of the article. Amazon can still attract price-conscious shoppers by funneling them to marketplace sellers that don't collect sales tax, and can now invest in more…
Having Amazon Prime and knowing I'll always get the item on the second shipping day means that I'll chose the Prime item even if the marketplace seller is cheaper.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's basically the Marketplace Fairness Act, which is the most likely "internet sales tax" bill to pass in the near future. http://www.marketplacefairness.org/ It requires each state that wants to collect from foreign sellers to provide a uniform state-wide sales tax policy, a single organization in each state to handle registrations/filings/audits, and free tax compliance software. It also builds a mechanism to ce…
For true fairness there needs to be a single organization nationally that can collect and process the tax. 50 different filings is an unduly onerous and inefficient hurdle for setting up shop.
From an outsiders perspective what the USA needs is a proper reform of the constitution and remove a lot of thinkgs from the perview of the individual states.
A maximum age for senators, congessmen and judges would also be a good thing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you walk into Bestbuy and show them the item you intend to purchase from Amazon, they'll match the price. With taxes, and assuming you don't have to drive out of your way, this can be more convenient than Amazon. If you need something overnight, it's actually cheaper than Amazon.
Depending on your work or living situation, that might not be more convenient. I'm in SF with no car, and I wouldn't even consider going to Best Buy.