NY Brings Back Lawsuit Over Amazon Sales Taxes

[crazitrain02]

Online store: $129.99 + free shipping + no tax = Me happy
Local store: $139.95 + 8.1% Sales tax + me driving there to pick it up = Me not so happy

 

[eddieroolz]

Charging sales tax is a fiscally sound idea, but the problem is the politicians - someone will always find a way to embezzle those funds anyway. What's not embezzled will be wasted on useless projects.

That's the sad truth.

 

[melancholygiant]

Just like I can physically cross the border into a no sales tax state to purchase items and carry them back, I only have to pay use tax, not sales tax to the state I return to.

The problem isn't that NY can't tax out-of-state purchases (they can through use taxes). It's that they have no jurisdiction to tax them and have extreme difficulties enforcing use taxes. They also can't compel retailers who operate outside their borders to report on-line sales to NY customers.

For those outside the US, sales taxes are levied by individual states, not the Federal government and the feds have determined that on-line purchases take place within the state(s) in which the seller operates. The Feds only have authority and are the only ones with the authority to govern inter-state trade.

In this case NY is trying to vastly overstep it's authority. Fortunately their shennigans have been shot down in the past and will continue to do so.

In this case the Feds would have to pass legislation to tax on-line and inter-state commerce.

Conversely, the Feds would have no Constitutional authority to apply this tax for on-line purchases occurring wholely within a state, complicating the issue even further.

Maybe NY should start figuring out ways to encourage these businesses to operate within its borders. At least then they'd generate some tax revenue.

 

[Guest]

Please note Amazon does currently collect State and even county sales tax in New york.

 

[Guest]

They tax me when I make the money, Income, they tax me when I spend the money, Sales, and they tax me when I die, Estate.

A just system would either Tax you when you make the money, Income, or Tax you when you spend the money, Sales. But not both, and not that ghoulish Death Tax that Democrats so love.

 

[geoffs]

[citation][nom]dennisburke[/nom]Sales tax should be S#&t Canned entirely. A progressive income tax is the way to go.[/citation]
I disagree completely. Personal income tax should go away completely and sales tax should be much higher. It's far more efficient (i.e. less costly and easier to administer) to collect sales tax from 5M-10M businesses than from 250M individuals. That would dramatically reduce the size and cost of the IRS.

Necessities such as groceries and clothes under $XX could have little or no tax, while non-essential items (that will be purchased by those with more disposable income) will have higher taxes. That's the first step in making it "progressive". Under such a system, those who spend the most, pay the most. As a side benefit, it encourages saving.

You can make it even more "progressive" by allowing individuals to file for a "refund" of a predetermined amount per individual/family (no itemized filing) that reimburses for the estimated average amount of sales tax paid by a family at/near the poverty level. This would result in no net tax for someone at that level, a "negative" tax for those below that level, and a progressively increasing tax burden for those above that level. It would still be a lot cheaper to administer than the current system, even with that "refund" system.

Stock transactions and many other types of investments involve a sale of some asset and could be taxed.

Bottom line, it's far simpler and more efficient. Less government waste, means more money in the hands of the citizens, and/or more money for other government services.

 

[dvw]

NO, online retailers should NOT charge sales tax, if they are NOT located in the respective State where the purchase is being made. For one, we in California already pay substantial, numerous taxes (including various sales taxes, etc).

The retailers and consumers should not be held financially liable for a Government-ladened, inefficient system. Just as one small example (actually, TINY example!), 10's of thousands of vehicles change hands every year in California. Sales tax (RIDICULOUSLY HIGH and OUT of control!!), plus DMV fees and other fees are charged on these transactions every time there's a change of ownership, resulting in millions of $$$ in annual revenue. And that is JUST from vehicle sales alone! Non-related DMV fees are also substantial, OVER-compensating for any minuscule sales tax that may be lost to online purchases. E.g. on any given day, in one small Orange County Court, you will witness hundreds (possibly well over a thousand per day average according to unofficial but reliable sources) paying anywhere from $300 to over $1,000 for fines and citations. Many are well over $400 per cite. These State financial abuses go on and on, with triple, quadruple and MORE! taxation and various (hah!) "surcharges."

The point: California residents have the highest taxes (including local, state and federal taxes and "surcharges") of any State and the most bloated, inefficient and, generally speaking, lethargic government employees (INCLUDING our Congressional and Senatorial Representative "EMPLOYEES!"). We pay a third (yeap, a THIRD) of the Nation's welfare.

NO, we DEFINITELY should NOT be forced to pay taxes on items we purchase from retailers, companies located outside of our respective States. California government employees, for one, need to quickly come to the realization that they need to work as hard, efficiently and frugally as their counterparts in the commercial sector are required to do. Something(s) is definitely WRONG when a State the population size of California cannot efficiently, and COMFORTABLY, exist on what it extorts from already over-burdened and over-taxed residents.

 

[shiitaki]

I don't like anything about sales tax, and think it should be abolished nation wide anyway. It's regressive by nature. The argument is that the other taxes can be lower, but in the end, it's really just a benefit for the wealthiest.
As far as double dipping, I could argue that I should not pay income tax, since the companies I spend money with pay taxes, and their employees pay taxes, it's a self serving argument really. Companies locate where they do for numerous reasons, if you look at their locations, the states with some of the highest taxes are also the economic centers of the country. If people want better infrastructure, they can vote to pay higher local taxes on themselves and benefit from the investments. Expecting someone else in another state to pay is silly. The argument that companies pay for infrastructure through sales tax may be true because they are not paying the corporate income taxes that they should be.
Ireland has a 12% corporate rate that they don't enforce? Now we know why they are bankrupt, go conservatism!
To the guy who's compaining about 31% on what income? If you are working at McDonald's, then I feel your pain. If you are filing million dollar tax returns, I could only dream of having to suffer such sorrow.