There really is lots more to it than simply stating all etailers must collect taxes on items shipped to other states......For it to be totally legal, those etailers must also have a license to conduct business in those states......Those licenses will also cost money and be dificult to obtain at first.

Each etailer will have to deal with hundreds if not thousands of different state and local jurisdiction tax/sell laws and differing tax levels.....It will be a paperwork nightmare for the little guy etailer.

 

Have you noticed the increase in the 09 HD book, Saddlebag Support Kit went fr 119.95 to 139.95, 16.7% one example. They must of priced their stuff when oil was $147 and steel prices were way high. God Bless Them!

 

As the owner of Fast Aire, I am the typical small internet seller... or Etailer as we are called. The push by various states to have us charge, collect & send them sales taxes for sales shipped into their states is as old as the internet. In addition, many states are trying to get laws where we must pay taxes on ALL sales that we transact, even if its not shipped to an address within our home state. Retailers do this now because its considered as the point of sale.

I do now collect & pay sales taxes for all sales that are shipped to a Nevada location... unless its a tax exempted business that will resell the item. But, if its shipped outside NV, I do not collect sales tax on any sales.

The possible collection of these taxes means a large boost to the bottom line of many states that are home to Etailers or have large population bases that buy off the internet... CA, FL, TX & NY are the ones pushing the hardest but others are watching closely.

Its simple... if Etailers like myself & even the biggest like eBay have to collect, report & send taxes for multiple states and/or cities only a few things can happen:

1- Etailers will have to collect the taxes which means alot of work & prices will be increased to cover the costs of the extra work.
2- Etailers will raise their prices to the highest taxed level on all products then advertise them as being "no sales tax applied". Which is a lie but its done all the time in marketing. Its the Classic " Mark It Up then Mark It Down" sales gimmick used by the big box stores.
3- Small Etailers that are operating on marginal profits now will simply close up & die. Many of these are more hobby than business and are used as a supplement to income & not a means of their sole income.

Bottom line is ... Business will not eat the tax mainly because the most profit margins are small to begin with. So, you & I ... the consumer, will end up paying more for everything.

 

Yep why should states/government cut their budget?
You should cut YOUR budget.
Times are hard?
Tough ****. Give me your money.
Economy bad? Tough, give me your money.
God forbid the government tighten their belts.

 

I've been waiting for this to happen. Retailers are suffering because so many people are going online for ease of shopping and zero sales tax (assuming retailer is out of state). Not to mention, the states are losing a lot of revenue from sales tax. I pondered this when I realized I did 90% of my Xmas shopping online. Not saying I am for or against this...just reporting the facts.

Should this happen though, it'll create a significant labor cost and create a ton of paperwork for the online retailers just to keep up with each state's sales tax requirements. Can you imagine the clusterf**** this will cause online retailers, esp mom and pops, having to keep up with and submit taxes to each different state?! What a mess! Not such a big deal for the Amazon.com's of the world, but probably a huge deal for the little guy selling out of his basement.

Of course, I guess this will create a business opportunity...a company/software designed to keep up with and distribute sales taxes to each state based on sales.

 

Holy Crap. This concerns me. I need to get this information to my wife right away so she can appreciate how much money I can save by getting everthing I want NOW.

 

I don't think retailers are driving this so much as local, state, and federal goverment is. Can you imagine the whole new level of beuracracy that will need to be created to administer this???

This is how osama obama is creating new jobs. Soon, we'll all be public service employees. But I ain't complaining. Look at all the paid holidays I'll get, and the generous sick time, and the loafing I'll be able to do, and I won't really have to know anything, and I won't have to really work and......

 

I heard an interesting (twisted) view by a politician today......
- Internet sales have been a "tax break".
- Since the public wants tax "loopholes" closed up........It's their duty to the citizens to get tax collected on these purchases!!
JU

 

I had a feeling the government was someday going to tax internet sales.

Note to self...find Harley parts/accessory etailers in Europe and buy stuff with Euro (1 Euro = 1.3187 U.S. dollars)

 

Yea, our Washington mafia can't wait to get your tax dollars... the feds will find a way to tag you too before long...