Sneaky new internet tax pushing through fast

mjpfan,

It is incumbent on the feds to figure out a sane way to implement this. The state i live in requires one to claim anything bought sales tax free. I think I am probably the only one in the entire state who actually does this, therefore, the honor system appears to not be working. Hence this move.

I agree with Elizabeth, a rarity actually, but I don't see why the Feds need to implement it when it's the State's that charge sales tax.

AFAIK tax on out of state purchase is illegal. Because of that my state (Illinois) collects "use tax" - different name of the same thing. Since I don't remember what I bought where I use option of paying fixed "use tax" proportional to gross income. I found this:

"What Are Use Taxes

As a general rule, a state's taxing power reaches only as far as its borders. What this means for sales tax purposes is that a state cannot impose its sales tax on retail sales that are consummated in other states. Because states can tax only transactions within their borders, there is a big loophole from the perspective of the State Department of Revenue. A state's residents could avoid paying a state's sales tax by making their purchases outside the state, either by crossing the border to an adjoining state or by making purchases via the Internet. To close this loophole, each state that has a sales tax also has a complementary "use" tax. The use tax applies to the "use, storage, or other consumption" within the state of tangible personal property, the purchase of which would have been subject to the sales tax had the transaction occurred within the state."

"Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society"
Oliver Wendell Holmes

I have no problem with the tax.