Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Given that an ever-increasing proportion of commerce is carried out online, excluding it from sales tax seems like an odd thing to do, in terms of tax revenue.
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The law dates to the 90's and was intended to foster widespread commercial internet use by treating internet commerce like mail order: no tax without a physical presence. This, combined with the commerce clause of the constitution and past Supreme Court precedents render most of the so-called "Amazon" laws unconstitutional: states simply do not have the power to tax out-of-state companies selling to their residents or force them to be tax collectors for the state.
Whether the state is "losing" hypothetical revenues is irrelevant.
It's not as if they *own* the residents and can charge for access to their pocketbooks, though many politicians in and out of Congress act as if they do and portray not-raising-taxes as "cutting taxes". Americans aren't that close to serfdom.
Yet.