There is a bill in Congress to address Internet Sales Taxes that is widely expected to pass. Currently I am not required to collect sales taxes right now outside of Virginia, but that is likely to change with the passage of these bills sometime thiis coming year. Just an FYI...its not known how soon it will take effect.....or when it will pass.
Duane Collie
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This movement is driven in no small part by the fact that Amazon has to collect sales tax in more and more states. As it loses that competitive advantage, it seems intent on making sure that its smaller competitors lose the advantage as well.
Very True. Amazon is building a huge distribution center in Virginia and as part of the agreement with the Commonwealth will start collecting VA sales taxes beginning Sept 1, 2013.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
Already that way in KY... they have a couple of massive distribution centers, here..
I guess, some of you are aware that internet retailers have been able to put up enough resistance to keep this from happening, but Congress has stayed undeterred. California Congresswoman Jackie Speier has launched the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013. The proposed regulation is another try to institute a national internet sales tax.
Last edited by Riddle; 02-18-2013 at 01:01 AM. Reason: removed spam link
On states that collect sales taxes, you have ALWAYS had to pay them, just because retailer does not collect the tax does not remove you as the consumer from the tax obligation to your state. It's simply called a 'use' tax. In my experience however, the only consumers that do that are political figures (they insist upon it), and those that work for the Deptartment of Justice and / or Attoney's General offices.
The main reason retailers have opposed this is not in order to save the customer money (remember you're supposed to pay the Use Tax), but because it would nearly require a full time employee to submit monthly sales tax forms to each state that collects a sales or use tax. That's 44 or 45 sales tax forms to fill out every month, whether or not you have an sales to that state that month - or not. And that is a crippling cost to small businesses.
The Supreme Court has ruled that retailers must only collect sales taxes in the state where they have a business presence. Defining 'presence' is up to the attorneys, but it used be (for example) if I advertised regularly in something like The Washington Post which covers DC, MD, and VA and I ran a delivery truck to those areas then that would qualify as having presence and I would have to collect the sales tax.
The internet changed all that. Because its new, Congress doesn't really know how to deal with it but its obviously here to stay and they will address it, you can be sure. As someone that sells to all 50 states and even into Canada, I have no real objections other than I want to fill out just one form a month and make payment, and let it be distributed to the states as required.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.