Would you favor an online sales tax to decrease state budget deficits?

1 Comment

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  Mark Young - 3 years ago

  First, residents in most states are already required to pay sales taxes on Internet purchases. It's a line item on State Income Tax returns. It's not enforcable so they don't. Most states rely on sales taxes for much of their revenue. The growth of sales on the Internet over the past decade has eroded business at main street retailers, and eroded sales tax revenues. Main Street retail also employs people who pay state taxes (more state revenue)when they work. The lack of sales tax on Internet purchases has diverted billions in sales to out of state business, forcing states to look for revenue elsewhere, including raising sales taxes, which drives more business yet to the Internet, and it spirals from there. Taxing Internet purrchases is not a tax increase, it's a fairness tax.

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