Taxing of Internet Purchases

Alex · 07-04-2011, 04:21 PM

So you disagree that it is a disadvantage (regardless of whether it is surmountable) that California businesses (big box store or small mom and pop), all other things being equal, have to charge 10% more for the exact same item than an online retailer?

What if, instead of requiring Amazon to collect the use tax directly, the law instead said that Amazon (and other reatailers) would have to provide (ignoring the question of Quill) to California a 1099 equivalent reporting how much each Californian spent at their web site so as to enable California to effectively enforce the already existing use tax law?

Is this aspect of sales tax similar to how we tend to feel about speed limits. We're ok with the limit being the law, with someone occasionally getting slapped for breaking that law, but it would be viewed as horribly unfair if a way was found to actually give people a ticket every time they actually exceeded the limit.

07-04-2011, 04:21 PM	#1
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	So you disagree that it is a disadvantage (regardless of whether it is surmountable) that California businesses (big box store or small mom and pop), all other things being equal, have to charge 10% more for the exact same item than an online retailer? What if, instead of requiring Amazon to collect the use tax directly, the law instead said that Amazon (and other reatailers) would have to provide (ignoring the question of Quill) to California a 1099 equivalent reporting how much each Californian spent at their web site so as to enable California to effectively enforce the already existing use tax law? Is this aspect of sales tax similar to how we tend to feel about speed limits. We're ok with the limit being the law, with someone occasionally getting slapped for breaking that law, but it would be viewed as horribly unfair if a way was found to actually give people a ticket every time they actually exceeded the limit.
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