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

[Gary Mort]

Joseph Annino wrote:
> I think if states really want this, they need to give up something,  
> and run government in a more open way.  Base tax rates on zip codes,  
> and have all states submit the tax rate mappings to a list maintained  
> by an agency funded by all the states.  That agency will publish the  
> list on a web site, for retailers to download.  It would be published  
> at some regular interval, and you can use each downloaded list for say  
> 3 months.   Tax payments could be made to a single address through  
> this multistate agency, and payment records would include the version  
> number of the tax list used.
>   

Personally, I think States are stuck in the traditional brick and mortar 
way of thinking which is the problem.


If you think about it, how do you buy something online?
I use a payment service, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Paypal, etc.

Every one of those payment services knows my zipcode or can easily 
determine my zipcode from the information they require me to give them.

So why bother asking stores to tax based on where something is going?  
Just assume all online sales go to the purchasers state of residence, 
and require the payment processors(the credit cards and companies like 
paypal) to collect the tax.

This means small businesses no longer have to ever worry about it, at 
all.  It's all done automatically for them.

And yes, states need to provide a better method of getting the 
information to the business.  Right now companies spend thousands of 
dollars to subscribe to lists of sales tax rates in order to keep up to 
date.