eBay and Internet users taxed into oblivion?
Monday, September 17th, 2007 - 7:44 am
MySilentTeam.com expert contributors and respected eBay powersellers Dave and Debbie Harber are going to speak before a U.S. congressional committee in Washington D.C.
The committee they’ll be addressing is the “Internet Taxation Committee”. Dave and Debbie are part of a group of 30 eBay powersellers that have been invited to go along with eBay representatives to address congress.
Just the NAME of the congressional committee should strike fear in your heart. “Internet Taxation”…they are trying to kill the golden goose friends…
My friend Dave puts it this way, “Just imagine if you had to collect and remit sales tax for every item you sold online? Not only would you have to file to 50 states but often each state has different tax rates from county to county. In fact there are over 30,000 taxing jurisdictions in the US alone that you would need to keep track of.”
The potential complications and red tape that go along with tracking this tax is astounding to even consider.
What can you do to help Dave and Debbie prepare for their trip to D.C.?
They are requesting that you send them specific examples of how this legislation would impact your business. What are your thoughts on this issue? Leave a brief comment in the blog, or if you have more in depth info you’d like to get into Dave and Debbie’s hands before they leave please send it to us at:
ron @ jimcockrum . com (remove all spaces from email address)
The internet is a “free space” outside the boundary’s of Federal and State Taxation and should remain so. The amount of money and time required to track and report each state and federal tax implication would be time consuming and cost prohibitive. It will eventually drive the small business person out.
Federal and State entities now tax our funds so heavily that once paid leaves the average person living at “poverty” level.
I have two ebay sites I work from. One sells musical items, the other sells information. While I enjoy the money I make from these sales, it would not be worth the work if 1/3rd of my profits where to go to taxes.
The expense of eBay and paypal alone is enough to make eBayers cringe. Add government taxes to that and eBay may near about crumble.
Tax internet sales? How are they going to tax goods ordered by someone at one state, from a website “located” in another state, which will be shipped from yet another state?
What if one or more of the states, such as Delaware where I live, does not have sales tax?
The idea presents huge practical and logistical problems.
Taxation of every internet sale will destroy our livelihood as a small business, and make it virtually impossible for us to make a living - the red tape would be totally prohibitive.
Even bricks-and-mortar businesses should be worried about the precedent set by making small businesses collect sales taxes online.
Can you imagine the chaos if Joe Public stops for a donut while on vacation and the store clerk has to check his driver’s license for his address, find out the proper tax rate and collect the sales tax? And then the proprietor or bookkeeper has to make sure and remit the proper amounts to all of the necessary taxing authorities?
One of two things will happen. Small and even medium sized businesses will be driven out of business. Or a donut at a truck stop will cost $157.00– $1.00 for the donut, $0.08 for the tax, and the rest for administrative overhead.
That doesn’t even consider the bureaucratic nightmare of dozens of government entities– Federal, state, county and municipal– all trying to make sure they got “their share.”
Why can’t they settle for the income tax they collect when we do well?
I am a low-income disabled individual. The small income I make selling on eBay qualifies me for the MAPP program and its related Medicaid benefits. Having to collect sales tax would put me straight out of my little business. I would no longer qualify for my medical benefits and would no longer be a contributing member of society. So… this change would leave me broke, bored, and more sick and disabled than ever — with no way to get the medical care I need.
Gail in the number four spot took the words right out of my mouth! Internet taxation on sales would create an absolute nightmare for any online business. The government should figure out how to STOP WASTING billions of our tax dollars instead of coming up with another way to burden us even more. I believe that some day, the government will have so much control of our lives, we won’t be able to call this The Land Of The Free anymore. We will be enslaved by our own government!
Mike Mulanax, that is exactly why we have the second amendment.
It is ludicrous to think that enacting some kind of internet tax won’t have a destructive effect on small business. But then what do they care, look at all the other restrictions and regulations they put on business.
The only way they could effectively and economically take taxes from the internet is if they went to some kind of flat tax scenario. Of course that won’t happen because everyone will want their share and how do you figure up everyone’s share? From federal to local city. It’s just pure madness.
All it comes down do is the government wanting more money. Needing to have their hand in everything that has to do with money so they can spend it on their pork projects like the tea pot museum and a bridge only 50 people will use.
What is all comes down to is making your voice be heard. Call your Senators and Representatives. Tell them how you feel. They want that job they have and we still have the power to say yay or nay in that voting booth. Sometimes you have to remind them of that. Especially the ones that have been in there awhile.
We have elections coming up. Make your voices heard.
The states are acting on the assumption because they are not getting sales tax they are losing money. The states are really making more money in income tax from online marketers. Here in Alabama state sales tax is 4%. Minimum yearly income tax is 12% so the states are receiving 8% more via income tax on the seller. The new law would cause a huge number of online marketers to shut down and then they get zero income.Also disabled people such as Annie in the posting above would be forced to tap into the state and federal funds for assistance instead of being partially or completely self sufficiant. The disabled are a large group in online marketing. They should band together to help stop this insanity.
The government will lose revenues from existing businesses that will be forced to close, and lose future revenues from discouraged entrepreneurs. And is it possible that business owners who are self sufficient now may need government assistance if their business fails? Nobody wins.
This is crazy! Washington state just put into effect a sales tax law that requires me to collect different tax rates for every county in the state. As a small business owner/operator the added overhead is to the point that it’s not worth me selling within my own state. If this becomes a federal law where I’m required to know all the tax rates for each and every state and also some states counties as well, this will surely put me out of business, or at a minimum hamper sales. This will make purchasing something on the web less attractive to many prospective customers. Maybe that’s what big business wants? After all isn’t it the large businesses who will be able to keep their doors open after this passes (if it passes)? Doesn’t this legislation make the ‘cost of entry’ into selling online one notch higher for the small business person trying to get started? Pure craziness! Another BS law.
I’m with Robert Eilers #8, but I thing we should take it a step further and be sending letters and/or emails to our senators, congressmen and representatives for our individual states, counties and districts.
Please write to the people who pretend to support/protect us (Your Congress & Senate person)
Washington DC could hit this on everyone with NO WAY of ever doing it successfully and putting you/me out of business in the process: They DON’T even Read The Bills and they are considering this?
They pass Thousands of Bills and not only are not required to Read The Bills, in most cases they DO NOT! There would be hundreds of thousands of sheets of paper to read in a 1 Year Session!
That is how this JUNK is passed in our Country. Our leaders (?) don’t read the bills they sign!
Please write to the people who pretend to support/protect us (Your Congress & Senate person) and tell them the damage this can cause with this type of legislation! When they start receiving thousands of letters, they will take notice!
If you hear anything about The Read The Bills Act legislation that groups are pushing Congress to support, please support it. It will require a Senator & Congress person to READ THE BILL!
This is insanity! The “working man” is and always has been the backbone of this country but we are the ones living in poverty. We are able to turn to ebay and other internet sites to supplement our income and internet taxation will surely put a stop to that.
I totally agree that the government should figure out how to STOP WASTING billions of our tax dollars instead of coming up with another way to burden us even more.
What about international sellers? I’m in the UK and I sell ebooks worldwide (via digital delivery) but I wouldn’t want to have to go thru’ all my listings picking out US buyers, just so I can pay tax to a country I don’t live in!
The internet is international by it’s very nature, people in some counties shouldn’t be penalised while others aren’t. It needs a level playing field.
And worse… other countries may want to follow suit. BAD IDEA.
If the US government wanted more money they shouldn’t be wasting it dropping bombs, shooting at and killing people in other sovereign lands!