The Tax Man Cometh?
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009The article below got me wondering when the Feds and all of the States are going to start taxing Internet sales en masse. There is no telling how much Temple has lost in the way of sale tax leakage due to Internet sales. Sales taxes make up 29% of the City revenues. Significant leakage could hinder our ablity to maintain levels of service without offsetting property tax increases. I often ponder the inequities of a government sponsored tax scheme that gives online reatilers a significant advantage over local business that have to collect sales tax. On the other side of the coin, I understand the huge logistical issues associated with collecting sales taxes for 50 states and the Feds. Oh well, this is an issue that we will have to leave up to our infinitely wise elected representatives in Austin and DC to solve.
Amazon.com has now added Rhode Island to its blacklist of affiliates in response to its proposed budget changes to enforce a tax on Internet sales, which includes commissions on their affiliate program by content providers based in Rhode Island. The first state to be blacklisted was North Carolina, for the same reason. If you go to a Rhode Island-based or North Carolina-based website that advertises Amazon.com goods as an affiliate, that website will no longer have the goods available because otherwise Amazon.com would be forced to pay sales tax to the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations or the State of North Carolina. The state’s rationale is, if someone clicks to buy a good from Amazon.com via a site based in Rhode Island, it’s equivalent to buying a good from a brick and mortar chain store located in Rhode Island.