An Online Sales Tax: The Future of Buying Online
Buying and selling online is largely tax-free. There are certain states where an individual may find that he has to pay sales tax. The companies are required by law to collect these sales taxes. Many states have a voluntary program where people can pay sales taxes on items ordered online or through the mail. States have even graciously decided to offer amnesty to those who pay late. These generous offers are often gone unheeded.
State Internet sales taxes are unlikely to occur. The states have proven that they have no way of effectively enforcing these taxes on interstate commerce. They will need to find other ways to make sure that people pay them. The normal method of begging has unsurprisingly, not produced effective results. It is usually the most cash strapped states who reach out to people this way only to find out that their efforts go unheeded.
There may never be a state sales tax on Internet goods or male order catalogs, but nothing stops the federal government from getting into the act. The idea of a national sales tax has been floated and rejected many times. People will only accept it if income taxes go away, and state sales taxes must be rescinded. There is one area where the federal government could take in extra revenue and bar states from collecting taxes upon it. Online sales are hard to regulate at the state level because online sales are interstate commerce, but a national sales tax on online goods is likely and possible. It should not be any higher than 10, which is something that national governments seem to forget. It might also help if certain items were excluded, such as food and clothing. It is hard to tell what will happen. The frontiers on the Internet are closing and the Wild West nature will soon be a thing of the past.
October 12th, 2011 by admin | Comments (0)