[nylug-talk] [OT] internet sales tax for NY in Dec. and the US?

[Brian Gupta]

On Nov 14, 2007 4:45 PM, Alex Pilosov <alex at pilosoft.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 14 Nov 2007, Kevin Mark wrote:
>
> > Hi NY residents who shop on ´the tubes',
> >
> > Just heard about this issue where Spitzer is challanging a SCOTUS
> > ruling which disallowed sales tax to be collected on the internet. This
> > what the reporter on this site[0] says about it:
> >
> > Such a move would be in direct defiance of the letter and principle of
> > the National Bellas Hess decision rendered by the United State Supreme
> > Court in 1967, and which has been the law of the land ever since. Simply
> > put, the ruling provided that, unless a company had a physical nexus in
> > a particular state other than its own, e.g. brick and mortar offices or
> > sales outlets, sales reps, etc. it could not be required to collect and
> > remit sales taxes on behalf of other states from sales made to residents
> > of those states by mail order or phone.
> >
> > Such a move would allow the current federal moritorium on internet taxes
> > to be overruled. Yikes!
> As usual, ill-informed people are confused.
>
> a) This has nothing to do with "moratorium on internet taxes". Despite
> what you might think, the moratorium exempts internet service (such as
> your DSL/cable/whatever) from taxes, not stuff you buy on the interwebs.
>
> a) If you are unaware, you *are* supposed to pay sales taxes on stuff you
> buy from amazon.com, if you are NYS resident. You pay it on your
> individual tax return. Its just that almost everyone breaks the law. That
> doesn't mean its not the law.

Sigh... http://www.hklaw.com/Publications/Newsletters.asp?ID=533&Article=2860

The moratorium wasn't just on "Internet access". The significance of
the moratorium are mostly dealing with it's larger clauses relating to
"e-commerce". Basically, the moratorium prevents new sales taxes, on
internet sales. If Amazon doesn't have a factor/warehouse in New York
state, currently New York state can't charge sales tax for items
bought from Amazon, as Amazon is not a New York retailer.

Also, the part on internet access tax was an attempt to prevent data
access technologies from the nightmare of regulation POTS has to deal
with.

> c) States lost a *lot* of sales tax dollars due to mail-order interwebs
> outlets.
>
> d) This is an attempt to get amazon to *collect and remit* sales taxes.
> Frankly, it will happen, and you should get used to it. What is likely to
> happen is interstate compact that would make each state to require each
> company operating within the state to collect and remit sales taxes due
> and payable to other states. There's already one interstate compact for
> that which doesn't cover specifically these kind of sales but it will
> likely amended to do so.

It's not going to happen without a fight.

> Sky is not falling.

>
> -alex

Cheers,
-Brian

>
>
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-- 
- Brian Gupta

http://opensolaris.org/os/project/nycosug/