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SCOTUS Rules In Favor of States on Internet Sales Tax
PROMETHIUS88
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That is all for now
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PROMETHIUS88
Posts: 2,826 ✭✭✭✭✭
PROMETHIUS88
Posts: 2,826 ✭✭✭✭✭
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My guess is that Ebay and Amazon will collect and remit the sales tax.
The "problem" is going to be with sellers who offer product on their websites, having to collect and remit the sales tax, especially with each state going to have their own set of rules.
Another early guess is that a number of states will band together and have sellers remit the sales tax to one address or online payment account. But I doubt if some of the bigger states such as California and New York will be so accomodating towards small sellers.
We shall see what happens.
One thing for sure, certain politicians, lawyers, accountants, and software firms are going to get filthy rich over this, while again, the small business owner suffers under the cost and time waste of burdonsome paperwork...and for what? So that big government will squander the money anyway, and then later on come back for more money to squander.
And don't forget the consumer having to pay more in taxes. Death by 1,000 cuts. Big government is eating the middle class alive as the appetite of malignantly growing big government is insatiable.
Hiya Steve
I would guess an easy way out would be to have people purchase thru PayPal and they'll take care of all that?
Some municipalities passed laws at some point last year to begin collecting sales tax and Amazon has front ended it quite nicely. I focus on my business and they focus on processing the transaction and complying with the laws. I would think something similar will be implemented on Ebay to keep the bookwork out of the sellers hands.
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Hi Mike - i hope you're right. I would think that payment processors such as PayPal, somehow will adapt to this in some way. Until it gets sorted out, it's going to be one big fat mess, especially because states will enact rules at different times. Sales tax collection procedures may need to be updated on a daily basis, and one way or another the business and consumer will pay for it all...the business with higher PayPal fees, and the consumer with direct sales taxes.
It's sad because the poor get harmed the most by this as sales tax is a highly regressive tax.
My guess as well, is that Congress will take up this matter and perhaps federalize the sales tax collection process in some manner, so that some pain in the neck states such as California don't shoot themselves in the foot with this.
In my humble opinion, and keep in mind I have a VERY shallow brain pan, this should have never gone to the Supreme Court. This should have been a legislative issue worked out in congress. It's too bad they are playing Johnny Jackaround with partisan issues and worrying about mid term elections to get much of anything done. My time spent on my collection keeps me away from political issue. Don't like to mix ma cards and politics!
A service will be available to collect and remit sales tax for legitimate online businesses. No one is going to get rich off of it as it will be an add on service that everyone - eBay, Paypal, Shopify, etc - will eventually provide. The people that run those companies are already rich.
Globalization, the 40 year attack on collective bargaining by conservatives and the continued perversion of the tax system to benefit the wealthy has done more to decimate the middle class than anything else. In 2018 the average CEO pay was 271 times the annual average pay of a typical worker, in 1978 CEOs earned 30 times the typical worker's salary. Contrary to Stevek statement, taxes have next to nothing to do with the plight of the middle class in this country. Companies make more money than they ever have. They just give all that money to executives and shareholders - never forgetting that the top 10% of Americans own 84% of all stocks.
Robb
This will not effect individual sellers(non-business) on eBay correct?
It depends on how they make up the rules, which in all likelihood will be most importantly defined by sales volume.
If Ebay collects the sales tax, it actually wouldn't affect any seller in this regard. Except for Ebay raising their seller fees to pay for the bookkeeping and collection costs. I'd say Ebay will gladly use this as an excuse to raise seller fees 1 or 2 percent, even if it's not actually costing them that much to do.
<<< Contrary to Stevek statement, taxes have next to nothing to do with the plight of the middle class in this country. >>>
Sorry but you lack a basic fundamental understanding of how the middle class is taxed. For example a loaf of bread. I'm not sure the exact percentage of taxes involved with each loaf, but every process along the way of getting that loaf to the supermarket is taxed, from the farm machinery and bakery equipment to produce the bread, payroll taxes, taxes on vehicles and fuel to deliver it, taxes on the supermarket, etc, etc, etc.
Who do you think actually foots the bill for this? The poor get food stamps. It's the middle class that bears the brunt of most of it.
I have no idea what half of the words you just used mean (and "Johnny Jackaround" was 2 freebies for me), and YOU have a shallow brain pan?
I would expect the decision, like the gambling decision, to spur a lot of legislative activity, both in the states to take advantage of it, and in Congress to get back in the game. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Bowman Baseball -1948-1955
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Al
"Que sera, sera,
Whatever will be, will be;
The future's not ours to see.
Que sera, sera,
What will be, will be."
Actually, I believe most states have a sales tax exemption for manufacturing equipment which would cover the farm machinery and the bakery equipment. The raw materials for making the bread would also be purchased tax free. In addition, most states have a much lower tax rate on food items purchased from a grocery store.
Now that's some great news about the government taxing virtually nothing.
I guess Kool-Aid doesn't get taxed either. LOL
I think the "gambling decision" will be left to the states. I can't see Congress wishing to get involved in that although a few bills may arise, but they won't go anywhere.
I agree with ya about the sales tax - Congress will get involved in that. The "lobby" of middle class taxpayers and small businesses has a VERY powerful voting block.
I'm just glad that those at the Boston Tea Party in 1773 didn't take that approach.
I'm guessing that you don't want to hear about the excise tax exemptions that farmers get on their fuel use either.
https://www.whatsbestnext.com/2009/04/151-taxes-in-a-loaf-of-bread/
151 Taxes in a Loaf of Bread
April 15, 2009 by mattperman
In honor of tax day, here’s Ronald Reagan’s great quote on how there are 151 taxes in a mere loaf of bread. It’s from 1975, and I can’t say for sure if the same is true today. But if anything, my guess would be that that number has gone up, rather than down.
The quote is from a very enjoyable and helpful interview in general with Reagan that I just came across (from 1975). I would recommend reading the whole thing.
Here’s the quote I’m referring to:
If people need any more concrete explanation of this, start with the staff of life, a loaf of bread. The simplest thing; the poorest man must have it. Well, there are 151 taxes now in the price of a loaf of bread — it accounts for more than half the cost of a loaf of bread. It begins with the first tax, on the farmer that raised the wheat. Any simpleton can understand that if that farmer cannot get enough money for his wheat, to pay the property tax on his farm, he can’t be a farmer. He loses his farm. And so it is with the fellow who pays a driver’s license and a gasoline tax to drive the truckload of wheat to the mill, the miller who has to pay everything from social security tax, business license, everything else. He has to make his living over and above those costs. So they all wind up in that loaf of bread. Now an egg isn’t far behind and nobody had to make that. There’s a hundred taxes in an egg by the time it gets to market and you know the chicken didn’t put them there!
A conversation about taxes is a very nuanced one, but in the context of this ongoing conversation about a loaf of bread specifically, and groceries, in general, taxes have very little impact on the realized prices people actually pay. It is more influenced by advertising, lobbying, perceived value, and many, many other factors. I can go to my local grocery store any day of the week, and buy one brand of bread for $3.99 a loaf, and another brand for 99 cents a loaf. Taxes have very little to do with that price discrepancy. Furthermore, quite often, that $3.99 loaf of bread will be on sale for $1.99 for a week. Did taxes suddenly get suspended for a week? There have even been instances where that $3.99 loaf of bread will be "free" with the purchase of $50 worth of groceries.
The key thing to understand about a free market economy, is that we have choices, and things are priced at a point that meets the intersection of the most people are willing to pay for an item and the least price that a seller is willing to part with that item. That intersection has been established, and if the government fairy waived its wand to remove every single tax that is embedded in the price of that loaf of bread, more likely than not, one loaf would still be priced at 99 cents, and the other loaf would still be $3.99.
I didn't know I was going up against a political quote. Reagan was making a point about taxes being passed on to the consumer and I think he may have exaggerated his point a bit. And hey there, be careful with those bread sales. The stores know exactly when the mold will show up.
Ah yes...hubris of the defeated. LOL
The quote had nothing to do with politics and you know it.
Do you still have to pay taxes if the item is shipped to an Indian reservation?
https://kennerstartinglineup.blogspot.com/
As I stated previously, a discussion about taxes is extremely nuanced, and unfortunately, political persuasion absolutely affects how you perceive that nuance.
I could have easily pointed out earlier that the Boston Tea Party wasn't specifically a revolt because of the tea tax itself. I could have stated that the price of legally imported tea to the colonies actually went down after the passage of the Tea Act of 1773. I could have informed you that the new nation, this conglomerate of former colonies now called The United States of America, continued to heavily tax tea for decades after their independence. All of this is true, but unfortunately, because this event in our history has been adopted by the Tea Partiers as some kind of touchstone in their revolution against taxes, the actual reasons behind the protest have been warped to fit a political narrative...
On a related note, here is a link to a thoughtful opinion piece on taxes. I believe it is more in reference to income taxes, and is a couple of years old, but relevant to this thread, just the same...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/04/14/taxes-irs-america-still-great-column/83026308/