Internet Tax Ban coming up for renewal....

[sarettah]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...30702_2003oct15 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/washpost/20031015/tc_washpost/a30702_2003oct15)

States Renew Case Against Internet Tax Ban
1 hour, 1 minute ago

By Brian Krebs, washingtonpost.com Staff Writer

With a moratorium on taxing consumer access to the Internet set to expire next month, Congress is under pressure to decide whether states should be barred from taxing a raft of budding online services -- from Internet-based phone calls to online music and movie downloads.

State lawmakers and tax officials are mounting a last-minute lobbying push to convince Congress to allow them to collect taxes on those services, which are expected to become some of the most lucrative businesses on the Internet.

Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who is sponsoring a Senate bill to renew the tax ban, said the state lobbying campaign is "alarming."

"It seems to me what the states really want is to stop the Internet access ban from becoming permanent, or they are looking for language that would stick consumers with hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes each year," Wyden said today on the Senate floor.

The Senate is expected to vote on the bill by the end of the month. The House of Representatives passed its version in late September.

[Carrie]

As if the folks at eBay really *need* a reason to add another 8% onto their $15 shipping and handling fees for sending an envelope. :)

A couple of years ago it would have made a difference, nowadays I don't think it will slow down consumer spending online whatsoever. It'll just suck for the merchants for the added bullshit they'll have to go through.

[sarettah]

Originally posted by Carrie@Oct 16 2003, 05:31 AM
A couple of years ago it would have made a difference, nowadays I don't think it will slow down consumer spending online whatsoever. It'll just suck for the merchants for the added bullshit they'll have to go through.

I think that if they start making merchants online charge the state sales tax for either the merchant resident state or the purchaser's state you will see a slow down. Right now one of the best reasons to buy something online (all things being equal pricewise) is to save the sales tax.

for example, when I am buying memory and stuff, I often buy it from bestbuy.com because they come out with some really good prices now and again. I have a best buy store less than 10 minutes away from me, so why buy online, because I save that 7% sales tax. (although often the price difference is more than made up for with shipping and handling charges)

If prices are the same and both have sales tax in them, then I would probably just run up to the store and grab it. I don't have to risk a credit card being entered on the net, I don't have to wait for delivery of the product, and I get to see the actual product with my own eyeballs.

Another important consideration is "will adult memberships, etc be subject to tax?"

In some states, subscriptions to magazines, newspapers, etc are exempt from sales tax as being "dated material" in other states they are taxable. Same with things labeled as "services", some states impose a tax, some don't. Where do adult site memberships fall into in the various states taxing schemes? Could be a whole big can of worms being opened there....



Last edited by sarettah at Oct 16 2003, 09:25 AM

[Carrie]

Go straight to eBay or Crucial for your RAM, it'll be cheaper :awinky:
And there's always the lovely www.PriceWatch.com - gem of a site that is!

I do whatever is going to be cheaper for me *and* more convenient. Since I have two little ones, getting into the car and running up to the store is a major pain in the ass and takes much longer than a few minutes (plus the added stress and aggravation... "Put that down! Come back here!"). Quite often it's worth an extra $2 and 2 days' wait just to have it delivered to my door.
Now if only PeaPod.com serviced my area... :(

But those ebayers better have a Buy It Now button or they're not getting my business... when I want to buy something, I want to do it NOW, lol.

It might be a can of worms but most likely the States already have most (if not all) of the classifications in place and ready to slam down. Don't forget they've been fighting tooth and nail for this for years now - they've worked out to nearly the last penny just what each type of business (tangible, service, etc) should be charged and how much money they're going to get.

[Darren]

Similiar to whats happening in Europe at moment they want us to charge CAT up to 25% on all orders.

Actually that is for u as well but not many americans are listening.

[Rolo]

Darren, I think alot of non-europeans are listing, however they have decied that EU does not control the world, and so they do not have to pay taxes to them :)