Wonder how this is going to work?

With the Supremes allowing states to collect sales taxes on items sold over the net to people living in their state I have to wonder how the taxes will be collected?
I read that there around 12,000 places with various tax rates and if you live in one town the tax rate is one rate but the next town my have a different tax rate.
This is going to be interesting to say the least.

John in Texas

In 1901 Australia became a federation of 7 states. Most state taxes were transferred to the federal government . Prior to about 1950, all workers filled out two tax returns - one for the state government, the other for the federal government. These days there is a Commonwealth heads of government meeting (COAG) and federal taxes are doled out to the states. Allowing the states to collect income tax would be very retrograde. - 'United we stand - Divided we fall' ?

There are two ways it can be done:

1) charge the local rate where the seller is located.

2) charge the local rate where the buyer is located.

If 1), the buyer is being taxed by a jurisdiction where he has no vote .... that is taxation without representation.
However, this is workable, and is really no different than when buyers voluntarily cross jurisdiction lines to make a purchase.

If 2), (which no doubt will be the case) there are thousands of jurisdictions, as John points out above. I suppose someone will create a software program to convert zip codes to tax rates. Such software will require updates on an annual basis, which will entail added costs to the retailer.

However, the cost and complexity I note above, is the least of the retailer's nightmare. When the retailer submits his sales tax return, he must allocate the precise dollar amount he sold in each of the the state's counties, and sometimes in the particular city as well. This is not a supposition .... I now fill out such returns, on a monthly basis for some states. This is workable for me since my sales locations are singular in the various states. Imagine the complexity if the sales locations become the buyer's address.

Needless to say, the cost to the buyer will increase much more than by the tax rate.
I am sure many retailers will quit on-line sales, or drop ship using a third party such as Amazon ..... another case of the rich getting richer. Of course, Amazon supports taxing the internet.

Slick

Just another tRump nutty idea. The cost of figuring it all out will far outweigh any receipt of funds.

what the f^^^ does this have to do with TRUMP ?? NOT A DAMN THING

It's a US Government proposal and tRump is President of said government. Ergo, it is all down to him. If he disagreed with the proposal, he'd have killed it.

Politicians of all stripes are looking at ways to 'enhance revenue streams". With so many brick-and-mortar retailers going tits-up due to competition from the internet, it doesn't surprise me one iota that they are looking for ways to collect tax on online sales. The current "tax cuts" as they are calling the multi-billion-dollar welfare they're giving large corporations with no plans on how it may be paid for are just more pressure to produce tax revenue. A great example of the results of this pressure; cops handing out more and more tickets to pay for their salaries and equipment. So this is a non-political issue being urged along by political agendas. It's been going on for a lot longer than Trump's entry into politics, but his policies certainly aren't helping. The right-wing's penchant love for tax cuts to play heroes to their base are nearly as destructive as all the wasteful spending.

In any given situation there must always be a balance between democracy and control. Micromanaging requires more rules and more police - so more control. So who is in control in America ? Ignorant people love political strong men - it saves thinking . In Australia, a while back both Pauline Hanson and Tony Abbott were popular, however the Bogans now seem to be waking up - probably due to job loss and the attendant social problems..

Then, why as it has been mentioned on here and other websites, does not the governments collect taxes from Amazon and those multinational coffee shops that are UNDERPAYING their taxes?

Bernhard said:

Then, why as it has been mentioned on here and other websites, does not the governments collect taxes from Amazon and those multinational coffee shops that are UNDERPAYING their taxes?

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This Supreme Court decision applies to SALES TAX only, and applies to merchants who sell from one state to other states, and WHO OTHERWISE HAVE NO PRESENCE in those other states. Before this decision, such merchants were exempt from collecting sales tax from customers living outside their own states.

Amazon collects sales tax from all customers regardless of the state, because they have a presence in all states. A presence may be a warehouse, sales rep, or a contract between themselves and a supplier (a contract whereby Amazon makes the sale, but the supplier fulfills the order).

The case was brought before the Supreme Court by South Dakota, but now that the gate has been opened, expect a flood.

Slick

There should be some way to tax internet sales, just because the brick and mortar outlets have no way of avoiding paying taxes. As complicated as it may be, I think a level playing field for sales tax is the fairest policy.

Glad I'm almost done selling off my bikes and parts. I WILL NOT become an unpaid agent for the state.

Is neoliberal globalised free trade about taxing internet sales ? We might as well have import duties to protect our manufacturers..

grandpaul said:

Glad I'm almost done selling off my bikes and parts. I WILL NOT become an unpaid agent for the state.

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Actually, GrandPaul, our great state of Texas pays us to collect their sales tax ..... 1/2 percent of the tax collected. That's 50 cents for every $100 collected. Some states pay nothing, and New Jersey actually charges $500 per year for the priviledge of collecting their sales tax if your business is incorporated.

Then there is the downside .... if you are late filing your sales tax return, it is a $50 penalty, even if you owe no tax.

Slick

I suggest there is a difference in ideology at play. Some people believe that government should be concentrated at local level, others believe in federalism. I live in a small country town where there is a strong community spirit, so we work mainly in the interests of our town and tend to disregard others. However in the end, everything is determined by the economy of the whole country, so the result is collectivism rather than individuality. For somebody such as Trump, opportunity comes more from dealing with individuals than with federal government departments. - 'Divide and conquer' ?