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With the Supreme Court ruling to day - June 21, 2018 - that states can charge sales tax on anything sold on the internet, brick and mortar stores just got some relief from the likes of eBay and Amazon, who typically pay no such sales tax. Because they paid no sales tax, those retailers carved huge gashes into the brick and mortar retailers at physical as well as internet outlets because those retailers paid sales tax.
Now, with an even ground to fight upon, Amazon and eBay sales will take a hit. How much is yet to be seen, but the heavy erosion of sales will stall for a bit and even if they do not, states will not see increases in the tax receipts. I like this decision but I think it will open the door to further tax code changes.
I can see states now leveraging higher sales tax on internet sales than currently placed on point of purchase sales. It will be no different than the luxury tax that was instituted in the 1990s on anything over a set value. It will not really bring in more revenue but what it will do is save local businesses and that has a value that is not measured on a simple ledger.
Any order from Amazon already has sales tax collected for WV because they have a presence in Huntington.
For eBay and others, the same cannot be said.
While I agree with the decision due to the unfairness to state merchants, it will become a nightmare to the businesses. However, they should have been preparing for this just in case.
Any order from Amazon already has sales tax collected for WV because they have a presence in Huntington.
For eBay and others, the same cannot be said.
While I agree with the decision due to the unfairness to state merchants, it will become a nightmare to the businesses. However, they should have been preparing for this just in case.
Which businesses? If you mean internet businesses, then I agree, they have some work to do, but they are already paying some taxes in some states. Some of the more astute ones have sheltered their operations in non-tax states and for them it will be a huge shift, but paying taxes is paying taxes. It is not a herculean effort, its just costly. Costly as in the cost of doing businesses and they have gotten by for free since they have been in business.
I do hope that the state of West Virginia institutes an internet purchase fee, essentially and increased tax on goods ordered online and shipped to a business or home address, i.e., not the same companies brick and mortar outlet. Shopping online should have to bear the burden of convenience and the cost that go with that. Instead, you got convenience and a cheaper price as a consumer, now that has changed.
As a conservative it is rare for me to hawk a tax. But, as much as I am conservative I am always about fairness, equality and justice. This will level the playing field and if someone wants to purchase online and have home delivery, there should be an added cost for that convenience.
Ebay doesn't charge sales tax. Ebay sellers that have a presence in WV have already been charging sales tax. I've had sales tax added to purchases done thru ebay.
I don't think this is going to make people flock to retail stores. Many people (particularly younger folks) don't even think of retail stores first when they want something. They pick up their phones and search for their wants on Amazon. That isn't going to change.
Ebay doesn't charge sales tax. Ebay sellers that have a presence in WV have already been charging sales tax. I've had sales tax added to purchases done thru ebay.
I don't think this is going to make people flock to retail stores. Many people (particularly younger folks) don't even think of retail stores first when they want something. They pick up their phones and search for their wants on Amazon. That isn't going to change.
I agree with you on this one, West Virginia may not be impacted as greatly as other states. But, because state laws vary from one state to the next, the companies in questions like Overstock.com, Newegg, TigerDirect and WayFair, which have no physical presence anywhere will be heavily affected. All of those retailers sell products in West Virginia and they will now pay taxes on those sales assuming the legislature enacts new code to pick it up. As we discuss this, there is nothing in the legal code allowing the state to charge this tax.
If a state like South Dakota with a fourth of West Virginia's population can expect an increase of $50,000,000 per annum from this change, West Virginia should see a return 4 times higher than that, assuming a direct correlation. $200,000,000 would go a long way in our state budget each year.
Consumers that would have not paid a sales tax before will be doing so now and to be honest I can't see them changing their purchasing plans, so in that sense it will have a modest impact on brick and mortar retailers. But, if the tax code is developed further, as I alluded to earlier in this thread, a higher tax could be levied on a business that has no physical presence in the state than one that does. Obviously a study would need to be done, perhaps several to see if that is the best financial course to take, but if it turned out to be true, such action would eventually lead to conventional commerce being giving a shot in the arm.
If the state does end up applying sales tax to online purchases, how would it work in communities that have added up to 1% extra sales tax? Would it only be the state 6% or would it be based on your address so if you lived in one of those communities, you could be paying up to 7% sales tax?
If the state does end up applying sales tax to online purchases, how would it work in communities that have added up to 1% extra sales tax? Would it only be the state 6% or would it be based on your address so if you lived in one of those communities, you could be paying up to 7% sales tax?
That is the slippery slope.
Once a state can extend taxes to internet sales so can all of the other levels of taxing authority. Years ago - oh God - it seems like 3 reincarnations ago - I was a branch manager for Ryder Truck Rental and we had to show beyond any doubt where all of our drivers drove their miles; how many in this state from this time stamp to this time stamp, and into the next state, and the next and so on. Otherwise, the state of Arizona would declare that those miles were driven in their state and they would tax them accordingly. There was nothing could be done about it - for a very long time.
Unless a company proves where each purchaser makes their online purchase, a state, or some county or some city or all of the above could theoretically, tax every such unproven transaction within the confines of the US and its territories. If the company is late paying those taxes; LATE FEES on top of LATE FEES. Wont that be a hefty chunk of change!
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