Internet Sales Tax-- Another means of stealing $ from the poor

Oh, those poor, poor bricks n' mortar stores..

Woe is Thee!

Oh, not 'mom & pop' independent businesses.. Blehh.. Who in power ever cares about them?

No we mean those corporate chains like Wally World (Wal-Mart), Targeé (Target) and Least-Best Buy..  Those poor beautiful creatures!    They just can't seem to compete for lowest prices with those meanie Internet sites like Amazon and eBay...

Of course let's put aside the fact they do not want to compete-- most stores like Best Buy have rather begrudgingly accepted price matching of items on Amazon and Wal-Mart is such a fucked up mess of a corporation that they will not even honor and adjust lower prices in-store where the discount is found on their own website!

And let's put aside other advantages those physical stores have to online such as the immediacy of taking an item home vs waiting 1-5 business days, better return policies usually and for those stores that actually care about such quaint things, knowledgeable staff on hand to answer questions..

Nope.. Those poor bricks n' mortar stores.. See, they're at a disadvantage so they say...  They have to charge sales tax and for the most part those dirty bird online retailers don't..

Its enough to make a grown woman or man cry ~sniffle

Of course anyone who's owned or help run a business know that not 100% of all sales tax is turned in by the merchant to the state.  By turning in state taxes before deadline, the store gets to keep a percentage of that sales tax for themselves...

Nice scam, eh!

And lets put aside all the benefits major corporations receive for moving into a particular state..  For instance, Amazon is now accepting sales tax in Pennsylvania and California.. Why?  Because both states gave them lucrative, tax free deals to open distribution centers in those states in exchange for collecting taxes in those states...

As always, its the worker-bees who will be paying into the system to cover both themselves and their employer, then be thankful to Zeus for the opportunity to have a boss keep them in line 40hrs a week...

So there's great pressure upon the crooked politicians to enact an additional tax upon the poor, and yes that is what the state sales tax is-  a flat tax on all people of all income levels based on the purchasing of goods and services, and adjusted not based on what one brings in or what's in their savings account but item cost.

If you make $20k or less, you're not supposed to have anything nice... You're not supposed to have the means to purchase any item of quality.  So if you do, the more it costs, the more the state will steal from you while those better off who can afford to pay more, will pay the same rate and feel less pain.

And vendors like Amazon and eBay were the last hope..   Well Amazon used to be part of the good guys until they turned traitor..

Now the jackals are at the door... The Senate is trying once again to introduce a Internet sales tax and rush it through with as little to no debate and discussion as possible..

From Wall Street Journal (in blue font)

"Every time Congress has taken a serious look at proposals to boost Internet sales taxes, it has rejected them. That's probably why pro-tax Senators are trying to rush through an online tax hike with as little consideration as possible.

As early as Monday, the Senate will vote on a bill that was introduced only last Tuesday...

For Senators curious about what they're voting on, it is the same flawed proposal that Mike Enzi (R., Wyo.) introduced in February. It has been repackaged to qualify for a Senate rule that allows Majority Leader Harry Reid to bypass committee debate and bring it straight to the floor. 

The Enzi plan would require a centralized tax collector for each state or for a group of states that would gather both state and local levies from the online merchants...

The drivers of this rush to tax are Wal-Mart and other big retailers that can more easily absorb the costs of collection than can smaller competitors. Also supporting the bill is Internet giant Amazon, which coincidentally now sells its own tax compliance service to other merchants. 

Adding to the lobbying muscle are state and local governments. The politicians believe they'll collect tens of billions of dollars in taxes that are already owed by shoppers on remote sales but rarely paid. 

So big business and big government are uniting to pursue their mutual interest in sticking it to the little guy"

Yep.. Exactly..

Of course the White House is on board too..  "The White House today endorsed the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would be a tax hike for purchases made over the Internet. The White House claims the tax would "level playing field for local retailers.""  (Weekly Standard)

We're still waiting for the Obama Administration do to something, really Anything to make the lives of the millions and millions of his loyal supporters; the lives of the working classes and the poor actually Better; to put more money in their pockets or at least keep the little left they have..

Amazing what you can get away with when your party affiliation is (D)

So back to corporations:

Why compete for the customer's business by offering the best prices or improve service when you can just use government via all that lobbying money to cut the legs of those Internet retailers who offer better prices and value..

Big Business has already done a successful job destroying the ability of small business and independent sellers to survive on an even level playing field of bricks and mortar..  Gotta now destroy the 2nd hand vendor and eBay merchant too...

And all to supposedly generate this magical tax revenue that could be acquired just as easily by states through increasing income tax for those who make $1mil/yr or more, or instituting a luxury tax on those who buy Cartier diamonds or $150k automobiles..

Nope..gotta crush Internet shopping and then increase taxes on 'vices' like cigarettes and alcohol why pushing other vices such as lottery and casino gambling via heavy TV advertising..

The way things are going, it looks like we'll be taking bi-weekly trips to Delaware (no state sales tax) to buy everything we need..  A bit of a hassle yes but anytime one can rebel and legally middle-finger state or Federal government, its worth it.