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Another Win For Trump
Near the end of this story:
The Trump administration had urged the Supreme Court to side with South Dakota. And the Supreme Court. Supported Trump. Again.It's a huge banner over at Drudge -- that this deals a blow to the "Amazon Empire." I think most folks ordering from Amazon have long gotten over the issue of paying taxes. After all, Amazon subscribers are overwhelmingly willing to pay $119/year for "free" shipping. LOL. And if they don't want to pay the $119, they still get free shipping -- it just takes a few days longer for the product to ship.
I don't think there are any losers in this case. Amazon shoppers won't mind (they saw this coming years ago); local retailers are happy; and, the states are really, really happy.
This would be a great time for states to increase their state sales tax but find a mechanism in which to reward shoppers who shop local. Sort of like the "airport fee" that businesswomen and businessmen are charged for renting a car at the airport. And the exorbitant hotel/motel tax that states and cities charge out-of-towners.
Hi Bruce. While I largely believe you are correct that this is another win for Trump, there are also unintended consequences. As a small business owner that sells online, I will now be required to register and obtain a sales tax account in all 50 States, and then take the unpaid time to reconcile and send each State their owed amount by the 15th of each following month. Not a problem for the big guys, but for the many small online businesses this is likely to be both costly and Burdensome. The ruling also opens the door to having my company now subject to prorated income taxes in those States (California, Illinois, Taxachussetts) who decide to pursue this avenue as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping up your great Blog - it is my homepage after all.
Yes, you are correct. I should not have been so "glib" about this being a win for Trump. I was very aware of this problem -- someone brought it to my attention some years ago. It's a very sticky wicket, as they say in England.
DeleteI appreciate you still saying kind things about the blog even though I frustrated you with this comment. Thank you for taking time to write.