Should the Internet be Taxed?

Amazon coffers are plenty full as is but I suspect the loss of 1,000′s of California Affiliates will hurt their bottom line more than they’d like. Still, the GOV of California isn’t likely cure their horrid deficit by pulling such antics. No wonder so many companies are leaving CA for Texas

If they want to get rid of us, yes they will do it! so then for us the very small business who’s growing and eventually we too will create jobs, we are going to be in the Unemployment list! which by the way is not 9.1 % but more like 20-25% REAL numbers. Beacuse there are a lot of people who are free lancers that can NOT go to the Unemployment agency and collect! so for real yes it is the high number.
But wait! there is more! when we go out of business.. we can’t Collect and or make money and pay those taxes….Wonderful!!

Hey Chris,

Your map is out of date. Arkansas was already axed two weeks ago! And what’s that last question “Should about federal law?” That doesn’t even make sense!

Personally, after spending two weeks installing Amazon’s links, and then having them tell me that they are pulling this, I’m going with other vendors! Will I ever go back if Amazon caves in? Sorry, I wasn’t good enough to hang onto, so they don’t need to bother to come begging after I prove to them that I can get by without them. And it isn’t just my affiliate customer’s they’re losing. I will support those who support me. Bye, Amazon. I’m upping my income, so you can up yours!

I am not really surprised by the controversy over whether sales tax should be charged on internet purchases. This is how I see it, regardless of what state you live if you travel to another state and visit a physical store and make a purchase you are charged sales tax.
Websites create a “physical” presence* in that state. You as an affiliate, business owner, or whatever, have full control over the content displayed on the website. It is your property, you really don’t think you could pack up products and visit another state to sell them without a business license in that state? You should have a business license to conduct business and collect sales tax on all products sold.
What many people do not realize is that in most states you are supposed to report, on your Income tax forms, all purchases in which you were not charged sales tax and pay a lump sum, to your state of residence, at the end of the year!

*According to Dictionary.com physical can mean: noting or pertaining to the properties of matter and energy other than those peculiar to living matter.

A hard drive is matter and gets energy from the power supply, making websites a physical presence. They take up space and can be viewed.

Um yeah, GE cleared 40 Billion with no taxes paid in the US on those profits, other huge US corps now have their “corporate” office over seas and claim the same exemptions, though their entire operations reside in the US. Go after someone who has the money, owes the money and is dodging their responsibilities in return for the Privilege to conduct business here. Collecting taxes on internet sales is like trying to plug a busted dike with bubble gum, it’s never gonna fill the void and it will eventually make the situation in Cal worse as people loose income, jobs and leave the state in search of a more business friendly and innovative environment. The NR will continue to leave the country as Gov stifles growth for the sake of a privileged few.

If we just had the flat tax (consumption tax) then it would solve everything…even this.

BUY.COM appears to be collecting sales tax on all purchases in Maryland.

Regarding taxing the internet, if California gets this through, NY will not be far behind and other states, e.g., NV and FL, will follow. What it comes down to is that the states don’t have the money they need to pay for the programs and benefits required by our self-serving laws to pay for. Either our representatives get this figured out and stop forcing us to pay for this redistribution of wealth or they will keep finding ways to tax the air we breath to pay for all the programs and mandates required by the idiotic laws they have passed over the years.

I don’t think so. Who would get the tax anyway? The selling country or the buying country? If both, how would they share it?

Bad idea anyway. The financial situation in the world is getting worse anyway and not because of lack of tax but because of bureaucracy and bailing out private companies with tax money and corruption and and and and and…

So, it should not be taxed at all. We’ll cheat anyway.

No I dont think the internet should be taxed. Im starting to hate living in this state more and more every day. Thanks a lot jerry brown, you’re taking a lot of money away from citizens of your state that voted for you. I wish I could recend my vote for the guy.

I own a small internet business, before I become a Tax Collector for the 49 States I do not live in, I will shut my business down, plain and simple!

You Rock Amazon…….

I don’t understand why anyone is angry with Amazon? California is a bloated government that taxes too heavily to begin with. As a result, businesses have been leaving California to go to other states in droves.

So, rather than curbing the size and cost of government the state decides to increase taxes on the consumer (not Amazon) but they’re using the presence of the affiliates as an excuse to make Amazon their tax collector.

I don’t blame Amazon one bit and the consumers who used to buy from Amazon tax free will just look for another way to get their products cheaper.

The bottom line is – ALL taxes are paid by the consumer, they’re just passed along as a cost of doing business. So even though the government says they’re collecting taxes to benefit those who are less fortunate, all they’re doing is making the cost of the products the less fortunate buy more expensive to those who can least afford it.

The same goes for President Obama’s suggestion that getting rid of the tax loopholes for the oil companies will raise revenues for the Government and those big oil companies are the ones who will pay for his new health care program. The truth is, the oil companies will just raise the price at the pump to make sure their dividends continue to keep the price of their stock high enough so a foreign corporation can’t acquire their company for pennies on the dollar.

It’s funny how just a month or so after the Financial Regulations are passed to control the industry, the NYSE gets acquired by the German’s.

Yeah, let’s tax more, regulate more, add costs on big business so the consumers will have to work harder and longer to pay for it. In the meantime, big government will continue to raise our kids and teach them that it’s the right thing to do…..

And, Amazon is right! It’s the big corporations who are in bed with and grease the campaigns of the politicians in order to get laws passed that crowd out the competition and hurt small business.

Maybe, someday, politicians will begin to understand that tax revenues increase when you grow the economy rather than growing a constituency of dependents.

Ordering from an Internet company is the same thing as ordering from a mail order company. Companies selling over the Internet should only have to pay sales tax in the state that they have a physical presence in. States are getting greedy because of revenue shortages but in the end they will only hurt themselves as demonstrated by Amazon.com’s actions. The affiliates in the statse that Amazon is pulling out of would have paid income tax on their earnings but will no longer do so.

What people do not realize is that when all internet transactions are taxed the booming amount of business on the internet will come to a screeching halt. People have enjoyed getting this tax break. It is what has kept them from just going shopping for whatever at the mall. Affiliate advertising will be a wast of time. The income, even now, across the board is not all thet great. Amazon is not stupid. They see this for what it is. This type of law needs to be stopped now before it is too late. Needless to say that there will be a big drop in our economy, not a big help as most liberals think. They always think raising taxes is the answer. Not!