Originally Posted By: raytseng
Originally Posted By: sloinker
What makes no sense to me is the fact that unless the online retailer has a physical presence in the state they aren't utilizing the services that state/local taxes pay for. Namely law enforcement, fire and infrastructure. Why should they?
because a sales tax is a usage tax on the person buying the product. not the seller. Therefore your whole argument is shaky.
You're supposed to selfreport stuff you bought out state and have not paid salestax on you state annual return.
What you are describing is an Excise tax which is a tax that the producer pays.
ultimately the end final price can be made the same, but if you want to get into the technicalities the first step is to distinguish between excise vs. sales or use.
The argument was that a "small business" halfway across the country is not expected to know the intricacies of every state's sales tax laws. If, however, they showed their face in said locality, they were expected to take the time to get acquainted with said laws.
I pay my amazon state sales tax but get 90% of it back using the Chase rewards CC.
Originally Posted By: sloinker
What makes no sense to me is the fact that unless the online retailer has a physical presence in the state they aren't utilizing the services that state/local taxes pay for. Namely law enforcement, fire and infrastructure. Why should they?
because a sales tax is a usage tax on the person buying the product. not the seller. Therefore your whole argument is shaky.
You're supposed to selfreport stuff you bought out state and have not paid salestax on you state annual return.
What you are describing is an Excise tax which is a tax that the producer pays.
ultimately the end final price can be made the same, but if you want to get into the technicalities the first step is to distinguish between excise vs. sales or use.
The argument was that a "small business" halfway across the country is not expected to know the intricacies of every state's sales tax laws. If, however, they showed their face in said locality, they were expected to take the time to get acquainted with said laws.
I pay my amazon state sales tax but get 90% of it back using the Chase rewards CC.