We all do it. I do it. Hop on the internet and search for the best deals on office supplies, clothing, appliances, cameras. Just about everything. Great deals and great convenience. And most often, no sales tax! Yeah! But should we be cheering?
More and more I've been thinking how deeply unfair this is to retailers in your own state when you can buy something from an out-of-state seller without paying a sales tax. Local retailers have to collect taxes. Yet we ask them to compete with someone 2000 miles away who has no such requirement. When that computer or toaster is sold over the internet, that distant retailer relies on local infrastructure supported by the sales tax in the state. That could be the airport, the highways, and local police support.
Some companies, like Apple computer, do collect taxes on out-of-state sales. But many more do not.
States like Michigan have a mechanism in their tax code that asks taxpayers to declare internet purchases and to pay taxes on those purchases. But I've neither seen nor heard about any serious enforcement of these rules, and for honest citizens it can feel like a 'chump' tax, where principled people pay the tax, while most simply ignore it.
If ever there was a need for a level playing field it's on the internet. It's basic fairness for every retailer to collect taxes for on-line sales. Of course many businesses with a large on-line presence will kick and scream to keep that from happening. But there are methods and procedures to make it work. It's doable, equitable, and nationwide internet sales tax collection should be instituted.
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More and more I've been thinking how deeply unfair this is to retailers in your own state when you can buy something from an out-of-state seller without paying a sales tax. Local retailers have to collect taxes. Yet we ask them to compete with someone 2000 miles away who has no such requirement. When that computer or toaster is sold over the internet, that distant retailer relies on local infrastructure supported by the sales tax in the state. That could be the airport, the highways, and local police support.
Some companies, like Apple computer, do collect taxes on out-of-state sales. But many more do not.
States like Michigan have a mechanism in their tax code that asks taxpayers to declare internet purchases and to pay taxes on those purchases. But I've neither seen nor heard about any serious enforcement of these rules, and for honest citizens it can feel like a 'chump' tax, where principled people pay the tax, while most simply ignore it.
If ever there was a need for a level playing field it's on the internet. It's basic fairness for every retailer to collect taxes for on-line sales. Of course many businesses with a large on-line presence will kick and scream to keep that from happening. But there are methods and procedures to make it work. It's doable, equitable, and nationwide internet sales tax collection should be instituted.
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