Today's NJ Spotlight News had this article:
Push to expand online sales tax collections pits Christie against most GOP presidential rivals
Christie’s treasurer, Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, decided to include $28 million in his budget for Fiscal Year 2015 for sales tax collections by online retailers who have no stores or outlets in New Jersey after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in December not to take up an appeal challenging the right of New York State to require out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax from its citizens.
Is this crazy? Aren't we tired yet of 50 States AND the Federal Gov't passing tax law after tax law? And then there's fees which in the last 10 years have been another form of taxation? Look at the luggage "fees" on airlines, or the filing and application fees to do anything in this country, from starting a business (differs by state), to getting your Credit Report whenever you need it?
Thank God for the U.S. Post Office and the IRS. At least their customer and citizen charges are across the board, written and searchable, and printable, applying to all Americans. Not like the various states cigarette taxes which can vary from $.30 in Virginia to $4.35 in New York City! Will this be how Internet Sales Taxes end up? Give me a break!
Look at all the complexity, paperwork and business and consumer costs these varied rates add to the cost of everything we buy. These varied rates are as stupid as New Jersey's Use Tax -- yes, Use Tax. Which means that if I, a New Jerseyan, legally buy something, anything, from another state, and pay THEIR tax, that if it's LOWER than NJ's, I need to pay NJ Taxation the difference up to NJ's 7% Sales Tax! Are you kidding me? What person in their right mind fills out the special form and does that for every out-of-state purchase?
No, varied tax rates are all crazy and stupid and unnecessarily costly to me, you and all businesses. That's why I like the USPS. Yes it has its problems, yes it should cut out Saturday deliveries to cut costs (but politicians won't allow it, because "the public" likes it). I won't like it but I see why it needs be done. The USPS would be smart to start a special website for email services, with fancy cards etc like Blue Mountain. Maybe then it would make money?
Take the US Corporation Tax as well. A flat 35%. Most companies in the U.S. pay less than 20 because of their congressional and state deductions. We must make it 25%, FLAT RATE, for ALL businesses IN THE WORLD, in every country, with no loophole tax deductions. 25% is now the average competitive rate everywhere now anyway (2013). A fair rate without those loopholes. If a country wants to give a deduction? Fine, but then they MUST come up with revenue to replace the loss in their budget. Same with these hog wild states and the exhorbitant start-up deductions they're giving for locating business buildings or factories in their states (and countries).
How hard is this? Is there any logic and fairness left? Why, really, why, is there a need for extreme complexity other than to satisfy very specific interest groups and lobbyists?
So I agree with Steve Forbes' idea when he was running for President years ago. A Flat Tax -- for ALL Internet sales, in ALL countries. The central government would collect it all, take a small portion for administration, finding deadbeats and fighting cybercrime, and apportion the rest back to the "State" or region or county, where the purchaser resided.
Let's end this Internet tax conundrum once and for all.
Besides, with every purchaser paying it, on anything that costs money, it wouldn't be more than 1 or 2 percent anyway. Anything else would just be another tax ripoff.
by Rodney Richards
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