April 14, 2008
Is it Time for Amazon to Adopt NY State Taxes?
New Yorkers are supposed to be honest at tax time and indicate how much they've purchased from online retailers--like Amazon.com--that don't charge NY State sales tax. Now the NY State tax department wants online retailers to charge sales tax, or else be subject to audits going "back as far" as tax officials want.
Currently, retailers who have a physical presence in New York are required to pay state and local taxes, not ones who just conduct sales but don't have a physical presence. The Post reports tax department spokesman Thomas Bergin as saying retailers will "get letters saying if they register by June 1, you're excused, we're not coming after you. If you don't, you can be subject to penalties and interest. "
However, the state's Business Council thinks the idea is stupid, telling the Post, "Albany invented the Amazon.com tax because they failed to cut spending." Former Governor Spitzer was going to introduce sales tax on online goods last year, but realized introducing it during the holiday shopping season was a "uniquely bad moment to roll it out."
Online shoppers, don't worry too much: State lawmakers doubt the measure will pass, because the state would rather have the federal government deal with Internet transactions.
|
Want an even better way to cure New York's financial woes?
Cut Medicaid.
Problem solved.
End of discussion.
Instant reaction: please don't tax internet sales.
I suppose in theory, if sales taxes from internet transactions were realized, it would result in additional revenue and the state/city could actually cut sales tax. But of course, that wouldn't happen, the government would just figure out how to spend the extra money.
The government would be better off abolishing sales tax altogether (as it just creates an incentive for black market sales, too hard to police all transactions and too burdensome for small businesses and individuals). Just focus on income tax and property tax. Raise each to the point where it would cover for the shortfall created by eliminating sales tax. Not because I like tax, but because it would is much harder, if not impossible, for people to avoid paying property and income tax, thereby ensuring taxes were actually paid. Also, people hate paying taxes, and while in some ways sales taxes go unnoticed because it's just a couple of dollars here and there, property and income taxes are immediately noticeable, so when they increase, the populace gets pissed off-- creates some disincentive for our officials to avoid overspending.
the tax dept can kiss my ass on this one.
reason why i purchase stuff from online so i can avoid paying the tax@!!!!
this is smart as the beer tax in cali.
"The government would be better off abolishing sales tax altogether (as it just creates an incentive for black market sales, too hard to police all transactions and too burdensome for small businesses and individuals)."
This is silly logic. You're basically saying if it can't be perfect, it shouldn't be done at all. In reality, this would lead to the abandonment of every social and civic system that we have, since nothing is perfect.
Focus on income tax? Nah, it's too hard to police all transactions and too burdensome for small businesses and individuals. Income tax may be easy for a 2,080 hr/yr worker with a legit employer who is doing all the required paperwork, etc. However, not everyone's situation is like that.
Peter-
Yeah, because cutting healthcare to the poor totally comes without any negative externalities.
Also, getting back on target..
Interstate Commerce clause FTW!
California spends about half as much per capita on low-income health care as New York does. And I assure you that the streets of the Golden State's cites are not filled with the rotting corpses of poor people who died due to lack of medical care.
I really think that for some unexplained reasons New Yorkers are genetically less intelligent than people from other parts of the country.
the government just takes our money and gives us nothing. all that money going into those ghost companies from the slush fund? it's from money like these taxes.
Yeah, because cutting healthcare to the poor totally comes without any negative externalities.
Also, getting back on target..
And deficit financing of free health care helps?
Raising the price of health care for every helps?
It's a legitimate point. We did well without having Medicaid and Medicare in this country for a long time, and we still took care of those who are poor.
the poor in this crazy are lazy sobs. if they really wanted money they can work the jobs illegals are doing. illegals are doing fine and living fine.
crazy= city
Ok, so politicians raised the bloodied shirt to keep the Wal-Mart 'big box' discount stores out of NYC (it will destroy the local economy!) so that i can buy a house brand bottle of aspirin at Duane Reade for almost $5 bucks...Gee, thanks!!
In the interest of not 'taking it up the ass' by paying above retail, not to mention the funking taxes, I choose to do a lot my purchasing outside of the city or especially online.
If I were to guess, I would say that I spend about $5,000 a year on Amazon and about $10,000 for any and all purchases, Expedia travel stuff included.
The selection at Amazon is great, information is readily available and the price/costs are fully disclosed. I don't have to deal with traffic, dumb salespersons, hidden charges, fees or etc. It is so often that when i purchase stuff online the cost associated are so low compared to a local (NYC) shop, its almost unbelievable. And I don't have to pay a NYC sales tax? Who wouldn't want that?
Politicians only call upon you if they want something from you or want to DO something to you.
The 1990s argument against sales tax on internet purchases was that the internet was a fledgling concept and that taxes might kill it before it could take off. I'm not sure I believed that then and I sure don't believe it now. And considering the cardboard boxes I see in the trash room of my apartment building I would imagine the state is missing out on a lot of money. Laptops, 50 inch + plasma TVs, etc.
First of all, I never even noticed I wasn't paying taxes on stuff I bought from Amazon! Second of all, WTF? The shipping is already so damned expensive on most stuff I buy online, that if I started having to pay taxes on top of it, I'd just rather stop shopping online!
I tried to buy a small packet of organic gelatin the other day for around $3, and the shipping was $14! I declined to pursue the matter further! Everybody is using Fedex or UPS to send even the smallest objects!
I wonder if other people feel that way too. I'll pay exorbitant shipping OR taxes, but not both!
a value added tax would end the discussion but politicians dont get paid to think outside the box.
"California spends about half as much per capita on health care...": well what sorts of injuries do Californians have? Spraining the arms picking up giant glasses of orange juice? Or are the getting sick from all that STRESS? Give me a break. Try living in NYC for a while and see how long you can go without coming down with something, anything -- this town is a killer.
Last time I heard, I thought someone said Peterson was likely to pass it.
I hope not, I think adding a sales tax in the middle of a "recession" isn't the best idea.
but politicians aren't the brightest, they can't come up with any bright ideas.
if you can't think outside of the box, just start taxing.
how's that tax on millionaires going?
And considering the cardboard boxes I see in the trash room of my apartment building I would imagine the state is missing out on a lot of money.
Poor New York... they have a right to your money. Whatever will they do?
cut medicaid?? why? The poor and the sick getting in your way? They're an eyesore and an annoying cancer aren't to a nice Californian bumpkin like you aren't they? How about cutting your own paycheck? How about cutting more overinflated 6 figure paychecks from those that simply sit around wallowing in their own greed and playing golf all day? How about cutting paychecks from govt and state employees that sit around and swat flies all day while the quality of NYC falls apart? And how about the money going to this stupid war that nobody really cares about? forgot about all that?
Let's keep talking from the public so politicians are able to get a nice raise in salary and spend it on more garbage programs which we don't need.
Let's keep taking money from the public so politicians are able to get a nice raise in salary and spend it on more garbage programs which we don't need.
tax what ever the politicians are into. if they are into mistress. tax the girl friend of theirs.
tax the hell out of wine. tax the hell out of lawyers( most politicians are lawyers).
The entire idea of the out of state sales and use tax is ridiculous. There is absolutely no reason New York State should be entitled to taxes on purchases made in other states. It's like charging international customs fees within the United States.
As one who's had more than a few bad dealings with Taxation and Finance, I'd really like to see the headline, "Amazon to Albany: Drop Dead!"
This is silly logic. You're basically saying if it can't be perfect, it shouldn't be done at all. In reality, this would lead to the abandonment of every social and civic system that we have, since nothing is perfect.
I almost never see things your way politburo, so it doesn't surprise me you would disagree.
Still, I'm not sure why it's "silly logic" to propose that the tax system could be simplified and made more efficient by collecting revenues from property tax and income tax without need for sales tax. People find many ways to get out of paying sales tax, it imposes a big burden on businesses on calculating and collecting. Why not just increase property tax and income tax and go without sales tax altogether? Not all states use sales tax to collect revenue.
Eliminating sales tax with corresponding increases to property and sales tax would get rid of certain redundancies and waste by taxing people several different ways.
You say "Focus on income tax" but I did no such thing. I specifically include property tax because of all types of taxes, it is probably the most difficult (if not impossible) to evade.
correction:
Eliminating sales tax with corresponding increases to property and income tax would get rid of certain redundancies and waste by taxing people several different ways.
Poor New York... they have a right to your money. Whatever will they do?
The well-off are far more likely to shop online than the poor. Is it fair for the wealthy to not pay sales tax on a new computer or a huge TV while the poor pay it when they go to PC Richard?
There is absolutely no reason New York State should be entitled to taxes on purchases made in other states.
Other states aren't collecting any sales tax either, are they? And if you buy online from your home you are in New York (usually) so which other state would have first shot at collecting sales tax? The state where your item gets shipped from? Where the company is headquartered? Not at all?
Other states aren't collecting any sales tax either, are they?
Not the same way New York is. New York seeks to collect tax from any item purchased outside the state and brought back in--in essence, they are trying to impose an interstate import tax. I can't see any reason why they should be entitled to duty on items purchased outside New York State, under another state's tax jurisdiction.
The current law is that if the purchaser is in a state where the merchant has a physical presence, they must impose sales tax, which is fair. But if I buy something in, say, Ohio and bring it back to New York with me, or purchase something online out of state, there's absolutely no reason NYS should get a cut of that.
Personally I'm opposed to sales tax, or think it should be standardized nationwide.