@hojoon
Is any member of the congress pushing towards taxing Internet retailers? Coz I'll be pissed off if they pass it before they clean up the oil spill.
Absolutely yes. Though you don't mean "taxing Internet retailers," I assume; you mean "requiring Internet retailers to charge sales tax." And, where exactly do you think the states and feds get money for services, up to and including cleaning up oil spills? From our tax dollars. (and in the case of the oil spill, from BP, though I am sure BP is not going to foot the entire bill.)
@bodhi395
I think the better system is for the people selling the goods to have to charge the sales tax of whatever state they are selling to, and I'm unsure why Amazon.com doesn't do that, while most other e-sellers do.
Because internet retailers are only required to collect tax in states where they have a "physical selling presence." Even before the advent of the Apple Store, Apple would say that it has a "physical selling presence" in every state. Amazon does not. I'm not sure "most other" e-sellers charge tax. Most of the e-sellers I use don't, or they'll say "we charge tax in Texas" or wherever they are physically located, but don't bother for other states.
@dukebound85
I don't believe so. Aside from some items (like vehicles) you pay the local tax of where you make the purchase. No use tax is required. Or am I mistaken?
I *think* you might be mistaken. See this entry from Wikipedia on
"tax-free" shopping:
...For example, merchants in tax-free New Hampshire regularly advertise to residents of adjacent Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine the benefits of purchasing goods without sales tax, ignoring the fact that there is no general exemption from the use taxes when the goods are taken back home. Many purchasers are unaware of the obligation to pay the tax, or file the necessary return, or of the fact that it is not the duty of a merchant to collect it from them and pay it indirectly. However, it is the purchaser's obligation to pay it directly to the state, often in connection with filing their annual income tax return.
And also...
Goods that would be taxable at home are taxable at the same rate when taken home or delivered, regardless of where or how they were purchased.
This makes me wonder: what should happens when the surrounding jurisdictions all have the same tax rate? For instance, I live in the DC Metropolitan area and DC, Maryland and Virginia all levy the same sales tax or are within a quarter of a percent of each other. I guess, technically, I should request a tax refund from the jurisdiction where I buy a product, and then pay tax to my actual jurisdiction of residence. Even if this the same amount!
States are starting to recognize that the OP's thinking that there is "no tax" on Internet purchases (instead of a use tax that most people don't know about or just decline to pay) is a HUGE loophole. I guarantee that there is work going on now to close it. I know retailers like Amazon may want to fight because peoples' ignorance works to their favor. But we're talking about billions of unpaid use taxes here, I'm sure, and states want that money.
