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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:42 am
by GORDON
http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news....ork.htm
Tax free online shopping may be coming to an end.
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:15 am
by thibodeaux
The so-called "Amazon tax" closes a loophole for Internet retailers...
Oh, it's a LOOPHOLE. Well, gotta close those loopholes.
New York expects the new requirement will generate about $50 million in revenue this fiscal year.
That's the real reason, right there.
They argued that compelling merchants to adhere to the complexities of the state and local tax codes would place an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce.
My wife just started a business, and from listening to her, it sounds like INTRAstate commerce is no cakewalk. You gotta know what county a customer lives in, maybe even city. We only have 100 counties here, though.
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:41 pm
by Malcolm
Eh, it's only a matter of time before humanity fucks up the net & someone else invents yet another communication alternative.
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:52 pm
by GORDON
thibodeaux wrote:
They argued that compelling merchants to adhere to the complexities of the state and local tax codes would place an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce.
My wife just started a business, and from listening to her, it sounds like INTRAstate commerce is no cakewalk. You gotta know what
county a customer lives in, maybe even city. We only have 100 counties here, though.
There are software packages for that, that can tell you county/city/etc for whatever address you enter.
I can't remember the name of the one I went to a class for 8 years ago, but I did. It was in Philli.
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:51 pm
by unkbill
GORDON wrote:thibodeaux wrote:
They argued that compelling merchants to adhere to the complexities of the state and local tax codes would place an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce.
My wife just started a business, and from listening to her, it sounds like INTRAstate commerce is no cakewalk. You gotta know what
county a customer lives in, maybe even city. We only have 100 counties here, though.
There are software packages for that, that can tell you county/city/etc for whatever address you enter.
I can't remember the name of the one I went to a class for 8 years ago, but I did. It was in Philli.
Or when I ship kites out of state I just say screw it. I pay state taxes for different countys in Ohio. That is bitch enough. Then I forgot and the penalty on forgetting to send 20$ is 80$. I almost cancelled my licence and say screw it you won't get any.
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:43 pm
by GORDON
Vertex software, I think. Zip code gets you city and county, for tax purposes.
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:22 pm
by Mommy Dearest
State of Ohio has a sight called "The Finder" we check every tax return for city and school district taxes. They have been wrong more than once
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:30 pm
by GORDON
Mommy Dearest wrote:State of Ohio has a sight called "The Finder" we check every tax return for city and school district taxes. They have been wrong more than once
"State of Ohio" website is a government entity. Vertex is a private company and they have actual consequences for having a bad product.
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:22 am
by Malcolm
GORDON wrote:Mommy Dearest wrote:State of Ohio has a sight called "The Finder" we check every tax return for city and school district taxes. They have been wrong more than once
"State of Ohio" website is a government entity. Vertex is a private company and they have actual consequences for having a bad product.
Like Macroshaft faces consequences for a bad OS?
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:21 pm
by TPRJones
If the bill passes in NY, I can see two things happening. Some major retailers who don't already operate in NY will (for awhile at least) stop doing business with NY state. Amazon might do this, for example, although probably not for very long. The second will be that many many many retailers will just ignore the law, and NY state will have their hands full trying to deal with thousands of out-of-state retailers ignoring their tax laws entirely.
It'll be a huge unenforcable mess. And then NY will bitch and scream and we'll get a federal law about it passed that will make things even worse, and will be ignored by the rest of the world (and some major internet retailers will shift their business overseas to allow them to ignore it).
Hard to say how it will eventually end up. Mabye the government will finally admit there's something they can't effectively tax.
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:54 pm
by Malcolm
TPRJones wrote:Mabye the government will finally admit there's something they can't effectively tax.
The day that happens is the day I quit drinking. Cos obviously the world'll be fucked up enough to the point where no amount of chemicals would let me make sense of it.
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:33 pm
by TPRJones
Admittedly I may be being overly optimistic on that point.
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:52 pm
by Malcolm
TPRJones wrote:Admittedly I may be being overly optimistic on that point.
Come on, the modern U.S. gov't has the greatest extortion scheme ever. Give them enough protection money or they'll send the enforcers out to retrieve you, seize your assets, and then put your life on hold for a few years (cos killing isn't good for PR). There's a completely legitimate reason to pay that cash, too. Supposed to protect you from the rest of the world. There's a great deal of debate that goes on as to just how much safety is guaranteed.
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 4:41 pm
by TPRJones
True, but the ultimate end game of this scenario has us invading every other country in the world that has internet access and sells goods to US citizens through it. There comes a point where that sort of thing just isn't practical, and even the biggest idiots in Congress would be hard pressed to avoid admitting it.
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:45 pm
by Malcolm
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:16 pm
by TPRJones
Sure we would! But would we attack all of them? Probably not.
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:19 pm
by Malcolm
TPRJones wrote:Sure we would! But would we attack all of them? Probably not.
Not all at once. But maybe one by one.
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:40 am
by GORDON
Similar shit currently in congress.
http://www.news.com/8301-10...._3-0-20
Looks like America has declared war on Amazon.
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 6:58 am
by TheCatt
I like porn.
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:18 pm
by Malcolm
But state tax collectors have long complained that in practice, that just doesn't happen, and that money has been unfairly left in taxpayers' pocketbooks.
Emphasis mine. Unfairly? It's unfair that I keep more of my own money? Yeah, what a fucking crime.
Verenda Smith, government affairs associate for the Federation of Tax Administrators, framed the decision as a moral one of sorts: "Do you want to be a good American, or do you want to be an American who wants to cheat your government deliberately? It's a harsh way to look at it, but it's true."
Once my gov't stops cheating me, I'll stop cheating it. Till then, go fuck yourself with a wheat thresher.
Edited By Malcolm on 1208362734