MoreThe Retailers Association of Massachusetts is fighting for a bill that will require online merchants to collect sales taxes. Do you think this is a good idea?
In last week’s CI CyberNews CyberPoll, we asked readers if they think it’s a good idea to require online merchants to collect sales tax. The majority of respondents (75%) don’t support an online sales tax requirement, while the remaining readers (25%) do think it’s a good idea.
Comments included:
“It’s still a sale, so why shouldn’t there be sales tax?”
“The Retailers Association of Massachusetts needs to ‘get real.’ Online merchants that don’t have a ‘brick and mortar’ location certainly don’t pay property taxes on buildings that don’t exist, and they definitely shouldn’t be required to be ‘police’ for the state in order to collect sales taxes. This is simply a case of ‘cry baby’ states trying to grab extra revenue wherever they can because of state fiscal mismanagement! It also brings home the point that most states, themselves, can’t enforce existing state laws, where residents are ‘required’ to report, on their state income tax forms, all out-of-state sales taxes paid. Most taxpayers thumb their nose at this requirement, because states don’t (or aren’t able to) enforce it!”
“I can see where it would be fair, but I can’t see the point of paying any more sales taxes-the gov’t doesn’t use it wisely anyway.”
“States wanting sales tax for online transactions is reasonable as long as two things happen: 1) The sellers must collect the tax and pay it to the state, just like ‘brick-and-mortar’ stores do now. Individual consumers can’t/won’t keep track of purchases throughout the year and include them on the yearly state tax forms. 2) Sales tax should only be paid to one state for each transaction. It would probably be best for this to be the state in which the seller is located because that is easier to track.”
Are you interested in taking the industry’s pulse on a particular topic? Send your suggestions for CyberPoll questions to Kelsey Seidler at seidlerk@bnpmedia.com.
Many thanks to all of the CI CyberNews readers who have participated in our CyberPolls. Not a CI CyberNews subscriber? Follow this link to sign up for your free subscription!
In last week’s CI CyberNews CyberPoll, we asked readers if they think it’s a good idea to require online merchants to collect sales tax. The majority of respondents (75%) don’t support an online sales tax requirement, while the remaining readers (25%) do think it’s a good idea.
Comments included:
“It’s still a sale, so why shouldn’t there be sales tax?”
“The Retailers Association of Massachusetts needs to ‘get real.’ Online merchants that don’t have a ‘brick and mortar’ location certainly don’t pay property taxes on buildings that don’t exist, and they definitely shouldn’t be required to be ‘police’ for the state in order to collect sales taxes. This is simply a case of ‘cry baby’ states trying to grab extra revenue wherever they can because of state fiscal mismanagement! It also brings home the point that most states, themselves, can’t enforce existing state laws, where residents are ‘required’ to report, on their state income tax forms, all out-of-state sales taxes paid. Most taxpayers thumb their nose at this requirement, because states don’t (or aren’t able to) enforce it!”
“I can see where it would be fair, but I can’t see the point of paying any more sales taxes-the gov’t doesn’t use it wisely anyway.”
“States wanting sales tax for online transactions is reasonable as long as two things happen: 1) The sellers must collect the tax and pay it to the state, just like ‘brick-and-mortar’ stores do now. Individual consumers can’t/won’t keep track of purchases throughout the year and include them on the yearly state tax forms. 2) Sales tax should only be paid to one state for each transaction. It would probably be best for this to be the state in which the seller is located because that is easier to track.”
Are you interested in taking the industry’s pulse on a particular topic? Send your suggestions for CyberPoll questions to Kelsey Seidler at seidlerk@bnpmedia.com.
Many thanks to all of the CI CyberNews readers who have participated in our CyberPolls. Not a CI CyberNews subscriber? Follow this link to sign up for your free subscription!
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