Tax Guru-Ker$tetter Letter

Thursday, September 25, 2003

Congress Asked About Internet Sales Tax - This is a big issue for several reasons, not just the fact that State governments are desperate for new tax revenues. As an accountant, I just dread the thought of vendors having to keep straight all of the sales tax rates all over the country and needing to file hundreds of different sales tax returns for each of the cities, counties and states in which their customers reside.

There are arguments on both sides of the fairness issue related to this. Local in-state retailers can make the claim that it's unfair competition for out of state vendors to be able to offer tax free sales. However, the flip side is that out of state vendors are not using any of the local state's infrastructure (roads, police, etc), which is paid for by those sales taxes. There is also the convenience factor to consider. Buying from out of state, you have to pay for shipping costs and wait for your item to arrive. Buying from a local retailer, you can take the product home right away.

- posted by Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA @ 9/25/2003 10:39:00 AM Send this post: