CA group boycotts Amazon over tax issue

[Badandy]

Originally Posted by rhadin

I don't see it as misguided. The bottom line is that there is no practical way for states to collect the unpaid sales taxes except through the retail seller, and that's a lot of money not being collected. I have made it a point to not buy from Amazon for several years now for this and other reasons. If I were in California, I'd be supporting the boycott if Amazon refuses to collect the taxes. I know no one likes paying taxes, but the reality is that we want the state to provide certain services and they have to be paid for.

And I've made it a point to buy from online retailers so I don't have to pay sales tax. I consider it retaliation for the unnecessary and rapid expansion of services the government thinks should be funded by my taxes.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

No one likes paying taxes... I sure don't. But I understand why taxes are needed to fund essential services... and more importantly, what life would be like without those essential services (trust me, you don't want to be living in a place where desperate people, deprived of support, are left to their own devices... and you're in their way).

So yes, I think Amazon should be collecting taxes for products, just like every other operation in the state. And I do think we need a national solution that establishes a ruling for all states.

[anamardoll]

I predict that we're either going to get a Moderation Warning or a Moved-To-Politics-Forum in 10... 9... 8... 7...

[OldGunbunny]

Originally Posted by rhadin

The bottom line is that there is no practical way for states to collect the unpaid sales taxes except through the retail seller, and that's a lot of money not being collected.

That has to be the dumbest comment I've read in quite some time. I was in a software architecture conference several years ago where this point was being debated. From a 'brick and mortar' perspective, it makes sense. The bookstore on Main Street in Anywhere, Kansas, only has one set of tax rules to follow. They remit collected taxes to a couple of locations.

From the internet sales, it makes no sense. If I remember the figures from the conference correctly, thre are approximately 15 thousand taxing authorities in the US. That's federal, state, city, county and special tax authority taxes. In those, there are those taxes that aren't full time (some places, for example, give tax holidays on school supply purchases in late summer). The accounting nightmare of collecting, tracking and remitting taxes to those 15 thousand taxing authorities will run anyone out of business.

The consensus of opinion of those present? It was not possible to develop software to properly support collection of sales taxes on internet sales.

When you're taxed on an internet sale, check the figures. The odds are, the taxes being collected aren't correct.

[OldGunbunny]

Originally Posted by Badandy

And I've made it a point to buy from online retailers so I don't have to pay sales tax. I consider it retaliation for the unnecessary and rapid expansion of services the government thinks should be funded by my taxes.

[Phogg]

California has zero problems with tax revenue.

None.

Nada.

Not any.

California has a corrupt and bloated government that over spends.

My heart doesn't bleed for California.

[bevdeforges]

Amazon manages just fine over here in Europe. I buy from Amazon UK and Germany (as well as from Amazon France) and they certainly have no problem hitting me for VAT at the appropriate (i.e. French) amount. I fail to understand why they can't do something similar in the US for state sales taxes. (And yeah, I'm originally from the US, and an accountant by trade, so I do know something about the mechanics of all this.)

[BuddyBoy]

Originally Posted by OldGunbunny

The consensus of opinion of those present? It was not possible to develop software to properly support collection of sales taxes on internet sales.

It's not easy, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's impossible.

In my opinion, the most cost-intensive part is the remitting.

Now, if you had a national sales tax clearing house that supported all the local taxing authorities and could handle bulk remittances from online retailers.... But I guess that's the national solution everyone is looking for.

[matthew tenney]

So are individual retailers supposed to be reporting state sales tax for sales at the Kindle Store? How would we know if the buyer is from our state?

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

I have no problem at all with compelling online retailers to pay state sales tax. They just have to make sure that all of those little city and county sales taxes, some of which are temporary, aren't included, because that's just a nightmare for any retailer to try to keep track of.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by askyn

Yes I DO thank Prop 13 ! Otherwise any time there was a budget shortfall the first thing they ( government ) would think of doing is raising my property tax....

Everything comes with a cost.

As a result of Prop 13, CA tax revenue winds up being largely made up of income taxes, sales taxes and other types of revenues that fall in a recession. So while the economy is tanking and the need for government resources increases, tax revenues fall.

Prop 13 isn't single-handedly responsible for the state government's budget crisis, but it certainly hasn't helped. Going after Internet-only retailers for sales taxes, regardless of whether it's justified, won't help much either.

[Harry_Y]

Originally Posted by Badandy

And I've made it a point to buy from online retailers so I don't have to pay sales tax. I consider it retaliation for the unnecessary and rapid expansion of services the government thinks should be funded by my taxes.

Amen

I'm tired of paying the tab for the governments wasteful spending.

[astrangerhere]

In my state, the ACLU sued on behalf of amazon and won. In NC, we are supposed to declare how much sales tax we owe on internet purchases. NC was trying to compel Amazon to turn over names and figures so they could proactively collect the tax from people who dont claim it as they should. The ACLU stepped in and sued and won.

http://www.internetretailer.com/2011...les-tax-battle

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

In my state, the ACLU sued on behalf of amazon and won. In NC, we are supposed to declare how much sales tax we owe on internet purchases. NC was trying to compel Amazon to turn over names and figures so they could proactively collect the tax from people who dont claim it as they should. The ACLU stepped in and sued and won.

http://www.internetretailer.com/2011...les-tax-battle

I agreed with ACLU -- they weren't really suing to protect Amazon, they were suing to protect the people who buy from Amazon. Still, it was a case of strange bedfellows.

The states should NOT be going piecemeal after Amazon shoppers. Good god, what a waste of court dollars that would be. The answer to Amazon being too big to go after ISN'T to go after the shoppers. Ugh.

[MrsJoseph]

So, what is the solution to Amazon and other internet companies not collecting taxes and their customers not paying the required taxes?

There is a major problem here for those companies that do not have the special status that internet companies have. What about those companies?

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

So, what is the solution to Amazon and other internet companies not collecting taxes and their customers not paying the required taxes?

There is a major problem here for those companies that do not have the special status that internet companies have. What about those companies?

My short term solution would be for all the states to go after Amazon to collect taxes properly. Amazon can't do their Texas Two-Step dance if all the states stay firm.

My long term solution would be for a real national solution that will take care of this nonsense once and for all. As you say, it's an unfair advantage in the market. And really, it's not that hard to collect taxes on the seller end -- B&N manages to take my NookBook taxes without a lot of pain and gnashing of teeth.

I'm against going after the individual shoppers because the government's overhead and legal costs would FAR outweigh any taxes they'll collect, imho. At that point, it's shooting your nose because your face looked at you funny.