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Emergency!! Sneaky new internet sales tax going through fast, Call your Representativ

J

jpfan

Lurker
For those of us that buy or sell anything online and don't want to be
audited by 50 states plus, please take notice to the new internet sales tax
that is going through fast right now!! Spread the word, call your congressman, this will put all small vendors out of business most likely, don't let it happen guys!!
 
There is a positive to having sales tax when buying goods online too.. I was good friends with a small business owner, he told me he lost business to online sellers because they offered tax free merchandise. He said many times potential customers would expect him to eat up the sales tax himself to compete with online sellers. This small business was a music store. I know the last thing I bought there, the sales tax was over $200 and for me to expect him to pay that would have been cutting into his profits.

Having sales tax online will level the playing field in some ways..though i did like not having to pay that extra 7.5% anytime I went online
 
jpfan said:
For those of us that buy or sell anything online and don't want to be
audited by 50 states plus, please take notice to the new internet sales tax
that is going through fast right now!! Spread the word, call your congressman, this will put all small vendors out of business most likely, don't let it happen guys!!
Click to expand...

I have been reading these warnings and alerts for years. Chances are, if it were about to be passed, it would be bigger news. To be fair, I know some want an internet tax and some will try to sneak it through. I know it will eventuially arrive because it represents revenue.

To be fair, if you decide to run a business, and you find the act of paying taxes is too difficult, get out of business. Some things are/will be part of doing business.

How old is your information? Links please.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/technology/internet-sales-tax-gains-ground-in-senate.html

This is about 1 day old.

Businesses that do not sell online are welcome to do so anytime. Anyone has the option to sell online as well as in their store. This bill is being sponsored by huge corporations that want to put small online vendors out of business and want us to go to their stores in the mall and pay 3000% markup for everything. Throughout history these kind of bills go through either in times of crisis or holiday so no one will notice. All of these people are dishonest.

Theyre also trying to pass CISPA which is worse than SOPA.
 
jpfan said:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/technology/internet-sales-tax-gains-ground-in-senate.html

This is about 1 day old.

Businesses that do not sell online are welcome to do so anytime. Anyone has the option to sell online as well as in their store. This bill is being sponsored by huge corporations that want to put small online vendors out of business and want us to go to their stores in the mall and pay 3000% markup for everything. Throughout history these kind of bills go through either in times of crisis or holiday so no one will notice. All of these people are dishonest.

Theyre also trying to pass CISPA which is worse than SOPA.
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I have read the same articles years ago and every year going forward. It will happen. Someone is always trying to tax the net. Not sure if the large corporations are conspiring to put smaller businmesses out of business. Perhaps yes, likely no.

So what? I do not have a serious issue with Internet taxes. I know business people that deal with these issues and they favor a tax as well. Why should you be able to sell crap tax free when my friends must collect taxes?

It has nothing to do with being dishonest; it has something to do with fairness, however. Not the fairness you seem to favor.

The net will be taxed at some point because governments love taxes. I am amazed it has not already happened.

FYI: for as long as I can recall, I have not paid taxes on mail order purchases and they were (as far as I know) still taxable.
 
true all businesses have the option to sell online, but it costs money to have and maintain a website, costs money to create said site, and it costs money to get your site advertised. By the time a small business goes through all of that they would burn through any profit that they may get when competing with the online giants.

CISPA is a crock and I don't see how representatives can let something like that pass. I mailed my reps when SOPA was being put through and you can bet I let them know my thoughts on this as well.
 
Why shouldn't there be a sales tax on goods sold online? I find it interesting how VAT varies so much in the US (even from county to county!), in Europe there are set bands for different stuff.
 
pbf98 said:
There is a positive to having sales tax when buying goods online too.. I was good friends with a small business owner, he told me he lost business to online sellers because they offered tax free merchandise. He said many times potential customers would expect him to eat up the sales tax himself to compete with online sellers. This small business was a music store. I know the last thing I bought there, the sales tax was over $200 and for me to expect him to pay that would have been cutting into his profits.

Having sales tax online will level the playing field in some ways..though i did like not having to pay that extra 7.5% anytime I went online
Click to expand...

pbf98 said:
true all businesses have the option to sell online, but it costs money to have and maintain a website, costs money to create said site, and it costs money to get your site advertised. By the time a small business goes through all of that they would burn through any profit that they may get when competing with the online giants.

CISPA is a crock and I don't see how representatives can let something like that pass. I mailed my reps when SOPA was being put through and you can bet I let them know my thoughts on this as well.
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So are you for it or against it?
 
pbf98 said:
true all businesses have the option to sell online, but it costs money to have and maintain a website, costs money to create said site, and it costs money to get your site advertised. By the time a small business goes through all of that they would burn through any profit that they may get when competing with the online giants.
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But it costs money to advertise and promote as well. My advice is for those that do not want to pay the costs or learn how to go about the crazy thing we call business, get a job.

There will always be the giants and there will always be people that compete.

Those that do want their shot at glory should learn about the web; how to judge ROI, something about social media and the like. these days, business people need to learn and use the web.

Most business concerns--web or B&M will fail. Some will prosper and a few will create another FaceBook or Twitter or Google or Apple and ride the gravy train on biscuit wheels.

Some folks think the web is their salvation and profits will be easy and it aint always so. A few do not want taxes because it is a little extra work. Some B&M stores have a tough go of it and they must pay local taxes and they object to the free ride.

I am on their side.
 
sntaylor said:
By world, I'm guessing you mean America..... Certainly in the UK we already pay vat on purchases made online!
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Yup, although Luxembourg has been running some sort of loophole which the Commission as ever has been to timid to put an end to, I believe Amazon uses that.
 
I'm for it.. and in my personal opinion I wouldn't try having my own website online dedicated to selling inventory, unless you are in a niche market selling to specific groups that the giants don't draw the attention of. Cause honestly I always choose to go with a better known site than a site that gets little traffic due to the fact that they are a small business, and I am not the only one. Many people like to stick to sites that everyone knows of, because they feel safer using them. And the info I have here isn't only my personal opinion but was also part of a keynote speaker at a 2012 eCommerce conference in Chicago

Personally I will miss the no tax on online sales but I do see the good in it.
 
pbf98 said:
I'm for it.. and in my personal opinion I wouldn't try having my own website online dedicated to selling inventory, unless you are in a niche market selling to specific groups that the giants don't draw the attention of. Cause honestly I always choose to go with a better known site than a site that gets little traffic due to the fact that they are a small business, and I am not the only one. Many people like to stick to sites that everyone knows of, because they feel safer using them. And the info I have here isn't only my personal opinion but was also part of a keynote speaker at a 2012 eCommerce conference in Chicago

Personally I will miss the no tax on online sales but I do see the good in it.
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And you never know how badly the sale will go. In some cases, the web seller does not stock what he or she sells and they do not know anything about the products.

Everything I purchase comes from trusted sellers. Some are small operators, but their reputation precedes them.
 
In the UK we've paid VAT on Internet purchases from day one. I can't believe you guys have had it so good. No sympathy here.;)
 
Well, you know, we are like the spoil little brother. But it have always been if the online stores have a presence in your state, taxes are charged. Now they want to charge taxes regardless.
 
From what I heard on my local news (which isn't very accurate :rofl: ) - it only applies to online stores making over $XXX ($1M/100M?).... so anything you'd consider buying from ;)

Amazon seems to be okay with it, and they are the only online retailer I've really used, so I guess by proxy I'm okay with it... :/ TBH, I don't do much online buying.

I'm guessing Steam would be affected by this..?
 
davoid said:
In the UK we've paid VAT on Internet purchases from day one. I can't believe you guys have had it so good. No sympathy here.;)
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To be fair, we pay VAT on pretty much everything. :(

Do you ever remember a store called Makro? It was designed for business owners etc and a lot of the stuff there was VAT exempt iirc.
 
Was listening about this on NPR this morning. They were interviewing an online store that sells tiles. Didn't pay too much attention (was driving) but it looks like they're setting themselves up for harder times by having this pass Congress.
I see a similar correlation with the debate over food trucks in the District. They can set up shop anywhere and never have to pay property taxes (among other fees). Area restaurants are not fans and I can definitely sympathize with them.
 
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