What is your opinion on this. I'm against it. There is no business being conducted in california when you buy from an entity with no physical presence. Just a straight fucking money grab. Got this today from Amazon.
nh has no sales tax, or state income tax we do have hot foods tax, and like hotels and rental cars and shit though...and TOLLS!
Sorry, could have been a whole lot more eloquent about this lol. The current state taxing scheme is essentially based on old style catalog sales and is ridiculously outdated -- it does not make sense in the internet world. Amazon is just doing this because they know it'll hurt their business if they have to start collecting sales tax (with free shipping plus no sales tax, they currently have a big advantage over bricks and mortar.) Under the current system, citizens should assess themselves a use tax and pay the state the same amount as if they'd made the purchase at a local store (and I'm guessing NO ONE on this board has ever done that.) In the internet world, it would not be that difficult for Amazon to calculate the tax based on the buyer's address. Amazon might bitch about the difficulty of this, but they've cleared far bigger logistical hurdles than that. In the old catalog/pre-information age, this would have been extremely difficult. At this point, the right answer is probably to have Congress specifically change the laws (rather than have states attempt it on a state by state basis), but that would involve politicians working together toward a sensical solution...
This happened in Illinois recently and Amazon had to end their relationship with those affiliates. Some of the affiliates moved out of the state and took a lot of jobs from the state. Same thing will happen with the companies in California. They'll just move to Nevada, Arizona or some other tax-friendly state. http://blog.seorevolution.com/2011/03/10/amazon-dumps-all-illinois-affiliates/ http://www.thenewamerican.com/index...tax-law-leaves-amazon-affiliates-high-and-dry http://www.websitemagazine.com/cont...is-Governor-Signs-Internet-Sales-Tax-Law.aspx
If they can, Amazon also tries to buy their way out of tax problems by agreeing to open facilities in return for exemptions from state taxes. A lot of companies do that (or try to), but it still feels like they're trying shirk their duty.
I don't blame California for doing what it's doing... but I'm not sure that it's that smart. Of course, if every state that has sales tax follows suit, then at some point Amazon will probably have to start collecting sales tax for appropriate individuals. I order a lot from Amazon, and since I'm in WA I have to pay sales tax. When I order from, say, NewEgg I should be paying income tax back to the state of Washington at the end of the year. I don't think many people do that. Ed O.
I don't mind the sales tax we have here in Texas. I can write it off at the end of the year and get it back anyway
do i have to pay tax now on digital content? same shit. kindle books and MP3s and TV episodes? fuck that.
states that have sales tax, tax "sales" of things...if you are buying something, you should be taxed for it
I am thinking "no". Currently with Itunes, which is apple who has their physical HQs in California, I am not charged sales tax on digital purchases. HOWEVER, if I were to buy a kindle book, would it change
Lol, I did well in tax class back when I took it 11 years ago, but I'm no expert. That said, I'd think Apple might be paying sales tax, but they just build it into the cost on the front end (there used to be a store here in Seattle called "Always No Tax!" and that's what they did.) Amazon's maneuver today was meant to avoid having to collect tax in their main lines of business (which includes Kindle) in California. Amazon is reducing their contacts in the state so that California won't have jurisdiction over them so that the state could require that Amazon collect sales tax. That's good news for your kindle book purchases, but not so good for a state that's having huge money troubles. Of course, for you to fully comply with the law, you should report those purchases to the state and pay the state of California the tax that you owe (lol like that'll happen.) Theoretically, the state could come after you for those amounts owed, but the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze. Way too much work for them to make it worthwhile. That said, I have heard of states tracking big ticket purchases (like art) and going after the purchasers.
