.
May 6th, 2013
06:37 PM ET
Online Sales Tax?
The U.S. government is considering a law that would require online sellers to charge sales tax. (If a business on eBay, for example, doesn't have a store in your state, it's not required to collect a tax on what you buy.)
This would bring in a lot more money to states, but online shoppers would be paying more. It would help some businesses but hurt others. So you can see why there's a lot of disagreement over the bill.
What do you think?
Please remember to include only your first name when commenting.
I would oppose, because you already pay for shipping, even if the bill doesn't say so, the price of the item goes up to cover the cost. Also, with websites such as Ebay, you bid on items, so you are already paying over a reasonable amount of money.
I agree. I hate paying extra for stuff. Well written, Belle
With so many online shoppers I do think it would be a good idea. With so many people with low finances, it could be a huge issue. Hard to choose a side on this one.
I think that online shoppers are already paying their "taxes" in shipping fees, which then give workers in the post office jobs. The online shopping economy is the only thing keeping the postal service strong, and if goods are taxed, less people will purchase online, further reducing the already dwindling amount of jobs in the postal industry, a government service.
I think that the shipping fee doesn't count as taxes because on sites like eBay the shipping fee doesn't go directly to the postal service and could even end up going to another company such as Fed-Ex or UPS. Which aren't even owned by the government. Also, I don't think a sales tax on the internet well discourage online shopping because it is so much more convenient and there is already a tax on items bought directly from the store. Im not saying i disagree with you because I also oppose it, but your just argument doesn't make much sense to me.
I would support this because with the tax´s money the government will eventually pay us back with new or better buildings, roads, schools, etc.
I would not support these, because we do not need more taxes; we are already being taxed enough.
States will be making more money, and that would probably result in more money going for education, new roads, etc. However I feel that buying products online shouldn't constitute sales tax. Online, they have to take the money from your credit card and it's harder to have an even amount of credit. In person, you can use cash or debit to pay for those uneven extra cents. But online? You just have to pay an uneven amount on your credit.
Neither. I think store keepers are in charge of their own stores so they can make their own decisions. This is something that a store can handle, why fight over something so little?
I believe that in the never ending debate on whether taxes should be increased the answer about online sales tax is clear. It is exactly what both sides want. Closing loop holes, the republican's plan, and it increases revenue for the government, plus one for the democrats. Creating a nation wide tax for online goods will make it easier for companies like Amazon to serve you faster because they are no longer restricted to stay in low population states, they can erect warehouses where ever it is best suited for the company, bringing jobs along with it. Small business like eBay stores will have no problem with this, because just as new tax software comes out every year for households, there will soon be services and products to ensure that proper calculations will be done, the beauty of capitalism. Yes, you will have to pay more for the products that you so desire, but in my opinion (to quote Mr. Spock); "The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few, or the one", and a small contribution on your part can add up to the money to build roads, pay teachers, and create a better government for us all.
Very well said, Duncan.
You should consider working as a writer.
Wow, I never thought of that until I read your comment. Well done. Are you a business expert or something? However, are you sure small businesses won't be effected? What if prices get so high thanks to this bill (if it passes Congress, that is), that people won't buy from them anymore? Republicans and Democrats can't get along about how to lower our national debt, so if they can't agree on how much percent this new sales tax should be, prices could up WAY too much, which would be disastrous for both small businesses like eBay, and big businesses like Amazon, because the would lose costumers, and therefore, would earn less money.
I think this is a good idea because the extra money could be used to pay for the city and education .
i think they should charge them there getting money out of it why should they do it for free
This is a terrible idea, taxes get enough hate offline so you think bringing them online is a good idea? People hate taxes, that's just how it is and how it will be untill they're gone (Which Ben Franklin is sure won't happen). I say keep it how it is now because then everybody will just be more upset.
right on!
It's unfair for people to have to pay more… if they don't have a store that they bought something online from, in their state. Not every state is lucky to have the actual store in their state that they have online. I'm sure some states don't have an eBay store
I think there should not be a sales tax, because it will decrease the amount of buyers. Most of the people including my parents use online markets because they are cheaper.
Of course everyone disgree with the bill, They don't want to pay more only less to shop online
I would rather spend an extra doller or two and see my country evolve then do not give away any extra money and still live in this old country.
I think that they shouldn't do that, them knowing that we already have to pay taxes when we go somewhere to buy something so I feel like they should "cut some slack" atleast when it comes to online taxing.
I prefer to shop on online with out sales taxes because it's not more money.
I'm upset about it because I'll have to spend more money.
I don't care because I to buy things in stores not on online.
I don't shop online I rather shop at the mall so I can look at the clothes.
i dont shop online and i dont think its fair for thepeople that shop at store face to face with the cloths and i would hate it if the sales tax pass where i live.
I would not support these, because we do not need more taxes; we are already being taxed enough.
I disagree with this idea. I disagree because I don't like to spend more money. If they add online sales tax it would affect people who are trying to sell and buy stuff on different websites.
The Florida legislature has passed a record high budget of almost 75 BILLION DOLLARS.
QUESTION: Does Florida need anymore revenue?
I would see no reason to buy online any longer, you would not save anything any longer, and probably be paying more
I would oppose this law due to the fact that I like to spend most of my time on the computer and I like to browse certain online stores that hold products that are related to my favorite games or online shows; but when it comes down to nothing else, I'm sure anyone would oppose something that increases the price of things.
I shop online for DVDs I can't buy in stores, like Doctor Who or Special Editions. If we added this tax I would still buy the DVDs but it would make convincing my mom that much harder.
I do not want to have sales tax on items that I buy online because that is the point of buying items online. Say if something in the store cost $2.50 and if you live in let's say Michigan you have to put 6% sales tax on that item which will cost $2.65. Well, if you bought that item online you would pay exactly $2.50 on most online stores, instead of $2.65. That way you will save money on that item and on gas having to go to the store.
I think that the government should not indorse in sells taxes in online shopping because people know that if they charge you for sells tax people aren't gonna want to buy and the website would crash
i think that it is wrong because if one online store gets money then the others should too, its just not fair.
I think it is not ok because it is not the same because people pay taxes at stores but they can't pay online that just dosen't make sense.
i do not mine buying from the internet because i not gonna walk to the store
I usually by games off the app store and if they added sales tax and i only had $1.50 left on my gift card and that's how much the game was that wouldn't be fair. -corbin
I usually buy electronics from craigslist and stuff like that and if they added sales tax it would make it harder to buy and find cheep stuff -JOJO
I would highly recommend that paying sales tax is a bad idea because some people doesn't have a lot of money and they won;t be able to get things that they want such as accessories and clothing and others cause they all cost to much because of the tax,that's what i think about sales taxes.
why are tax in stores and online we need more to buy stuff and think it a bad idea becuse it make my mom pay tax
I would buy something online because if you cant find what you want then you would find it online and if they add taxes then maybe people wont want to buy on line.
I am glad that there's no sail tack's i by from ebay a lot it helps people a lot when they don't have a lot of money
i disagree about taxes because who would want to pay more than what the value already is.
i totally agree
I think that there should and should not be sales tax. First they should have sales taxs because they need permission for people to buy and sell certain stuff. Second they should not have sales taxs because they (people) need to spend less money
I think that sale taxes should be aloud. Picture this: Somebody paying sale taxes for geting stuff at stores. Picture this too: A person paying sale taxes for poor people and for sick people or for people in Jail.
i disagree that taxes should be higher because who would want to pay more than what is on the price tag.
I strongly oppose this.I think that if they added sales taxes then there wouldn't be a lot of people ordering online which would make their company's and product go down. I like it better ordering online because it's way cheaper but if they add sales tax them im likely to stop ordering online.
I think this is a good idea because the extra money could be used to pay for the others thing . there to much money no were else. It will suck for me because i by thing online all the time .
I totally agree. I could buy a small toy for my sister at the 99cent store with money I won't have wasted on sales tax. Plus, the online stores that don't have a sales tax will only get more popular than Target.
Well, to be honest I don't really have an opinion on this issue. I feel we have other things to worry about with our nation. This is not important. WHO CARES?
The people and businesses affected by this intrusion care. However, no one cares that you don't care.
i really care i shop online all the the time and the money could add up to alot by the end of the ye4ar
I don't support this. But I can see everyone thoughts about it. I can see some points from the people and even the companies who support this. If someone should get tax it should be the rich. But again just my thoughts.
I disagree with it because the government is just trying to get even more money from the people. I already disagree with taxing already the government needs to get it's own money. The government should just leave it as is just because they need more money they are trying to find ways to take it from us.
I think that online sales taxing is not a good idea because you already pay for shipping, and they tax you on other items, too. Also, they tax you at home {bills, mortgage, etc.}. Online Taxing is NOT a good idea.
States can't get their citizens to comply with laws requiring them to pay sales tax on out of state purchases so they get the seller to become their unpaid collector. At best, the seller should have to send a sales listing to the State and then let them chase the money down. Of course it is much easier (and less costly) for the state to collect from 1 seller that has 10,000 sales instead of the 10,000 individual sales. So the seller gets to do the State's job – for free no less.
I oppose because you are already paying for shipping on amazon which covers for missing taxes. Also on EBay you are bidding on someone else's items not on something off the shelf at Walmart.
I don't think there should be online tax. It is enough for shipping and the price but tax, I really wouldn't like tax online, and I don't know how much it would be when I try to buy something, knowing I can't pay for it when I saved for a long time on the internet would be frustrating
People should have the right to buy whatever they want, without the extra cost. They might not have the efficient funds.
I think that sales tax on the internet would be a bad idea because each state has their own tax rate and which rate would the companies on the internet follow? Also it would make the cheap prices people are looking for really expensive.
First, what did we do that makes the government force some states to pay a sales tax? Second, why should we even have sales tax if other states don't have them? AMERICA, WE MUST BAN ALL TYPES OF SALES TAXES!!
If we start paying tax for online sales, who will ever buy anything on Amazon ever again??? I think that this idea is just not thought through enough...
if you pay sale tax online you would get money to the state as if you were at a store but online. plus it would pay for our parks and clinics so i think they should put taxes online it just my opinion:)
Even though it would bring more money in to states, people need to think about how things are now. Everything is fine just the way it is, and we shouldn't change that.
We should do sales tax online because it will bring in the money needed to better the states' people's lives. It could build houses, help to clean things up, etc. think about the people in need!
If we added the sales tax, then people would just want to buy less and less from these companies. This might take away money from the star and businesses, so it won't help at all. We need to think about long-term affects too! If people don't buy then states will fall!
It all depends on HOW MUCH the sales tax will add. The more money, the more companies and people will be affected. The less money, then the more the state will be affected with collecting the tax from a lot of companies when nothing changes except the amount the state takes.
We need to add the tax now rather than later because the economy will fall if we don't do something, and this is a good step towards a better country.
Having no sales tax online causes people to want to buy online more than at local businesses and can deeply effect that.
I think this would be a good idea, because sometime that money will come back to you through the government but it would be towards other stuff that you actually need like school supplies, equipment etc..
I think that this is not an important thing to be worrying about. If an online store does not want to have there costumers pay tax then why make it such a big deal about it really
I don't usually shop online and i know there are lots of people that are just like me so why are we making a big deal about this now. This is not something that should be as big of a concern as others are making it. Stop and look at the actual picture we are asking for more money "taxes" for shopping online but this issue has been going on the entire time sense online shopping has became available why start asking for more money now?
What i believe about the issue of the sales tax problem is that it should not be on some major websites such as ebay because not everything is what it seems nevertheless why would buy it if you know it might not be what you wanted and it contains a higher cost of money? I suggest to just not add the tax at all and to leave it as it was.
This is unequivocally a bad idea. I already have to pay a shipping and handling fee when I buy things off the internet that I don't have to pay to my local market, so why should an extra tax be put upon the online consumers? The Congress should stop focusing on raising taxes and focus more on cutting unnecessary spending, which might actually change things in the future.
i disagree because people already have to pay for ashipping fee. it would be like saying "we are going to put a tax on walmart because it is cheaper."
I think there becoming like the English of 1778 taxing everything they can one of the main reasons people shop online is too save money and not be taxed.
I oppose this idea. Sales taxes could impact small businesses in a bad way, since the prices will go up. And if they go up too high, people might stop buying from that business, and the could go bankrupt. Also, I have an Amazon account, and I don't want to have to pay extra for what I buy. Save the sales taxes for the stores. I think the shouldn't be an online sales tax.
I approve because of how much money this can give to states that will later come back and spend money to important things like education.
If they pass this legislation, they grant unilateral power to the states to reach across each other's state lines whether they want to or not. They also redefine transactions under sales tax. Purchases will no longer occur where the business was done. Transactions will occur at the billing address. If they make this definition on the internet, they have to extend the same level of billing address based verification for sales tax to physical store locations. States already collect sales tax from sales pertaining to their state. States can also enter into mutual tax collection agreements. If they want to do that sort of thing, leave the federal government out of it. Leave it at the state level. If there is federal obstruction that blocks states from being able to cooperate on collection of sales tax on their own, all they have to do is abolish that. It would sort itself out naturally as a result. These are state taxes not federal taxes. Therefore the federal level has no power over it.
If they pass this legislation, they grant unilateral power to the states to reach across each other's state lines whether they want to or not. They also redefine transactions under sales tax. Purchases will no longer occur where the business was done. Transactions will occur at the billing address. If they make this definition on the internet, they have to extend the same level of billing address based verification for sales tax to physical store locations.
Why on earth would anyone want sales tax on items you purchase online? Personally, I go online for cheaper prices, but if they add state sales tax then my prediction is internet stores will be deserted just as many actual stores were due to sales tax. You're already paying shipping for items you purchase, so there's really no point in raising the prices. I OPPOSE greatly.