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Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

Reject New & Harmful Online Tax Legislation

eBay and Amazon are both leading the charge opposing the new laws Congress is trying to pass that will tax on line sellers. We are all involved. By selling on FAA you are not shielded because you sell on FAA. Any taxes that will be imposed with filter down to you.

Here is the letter I got from eBay asking all sellers on eBay to help reject these new laws.

Dear Main Street Member,

Yesterday, Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT/3) introduced the Remote Transactions Parity Act, legislation that would impose burdensome remote sales tax collection and remittance requirements on Internet-enabled small businesses. If this legislation sounds a lot like the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), that’s because the two are strikingly similar.

Like the MFA, should the Remote Transactions Parity Act be passed into law, it will:

Compel small internet-enabled businesses to collect and remit sales tax to every remote jurisdiction across the country to which they may sell, regardless of where their business is physically located. There are over 9,600 sales tax jurisdictions across the country, all of which have unique rates and rules.
Give remote states across the country new authority to subject small businesses currently outside their jurisdiction to audits, which will be a highly expensive, time-consuming, and distracting process.
Additionally, the Remote Transactions Parity Act includes a weak small seller exemption which will be far too low for most Internet-enabled small businesses. The legislation phases down the exemption to just $1 million in annual receipts and, even worse, disqualifies businesses – regardless of size – that utilize an electronic marketplace like eBay.

For years, eBay has pushed policymakers to eliminate harmful tax burdens for businesses and consumers – and we continue to need your help. If you agree that this is bad legislation, click here to tell your representative that you oppose harmful tax laws that stifle business growth and harm consumers.

Your involvement has made — and continues to make — a difference.

Sincerely,
The eBay Inc. Government Relations Team


That is a link to the page were it asks you to write and tweet your congressman. It is set up as a form letter so all you have to do is fill in the blanks. I am not sure if you have to be logged into eBay or an eBay member to get the page to come up.

Contact Congress Now

I believe Amazon has a similar program, or at least they did the last time this came up.

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Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

I think this is an important issue so I am just bumping it up so it stays near the top and hopefully some of you will take action.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. -Edmund Burke

 

Lance Vaughn

8 Years Ago

@Floyd

I think this is important but I'm not filling out a form with all of my personal information including my mailing address on a site that isn't secure. That's really dangerous and I would advise ppl against it.

 

See My Photos

8 Years Ago

The Remote Transactions Parity Act of 2015 restores free market principles to retailers by removing the government-sanctioned tax subsidy that is currently given to online-only sellers. Importantly, it also strikes a balance between states' rights and regulatory protections for remote and multichannel sellers.

"This bill is the product of a thorough and inclusive stakeholder process and enjoys broad support by the business community," said Betsy Laird, senior vice president of Global Public Policy for ICSC. "The Senate and the House have both spent significant time deliberating this issue. It is now time for Congress to stand up for local retailers and pass this job creating, bi-partisan, common sense bill."

There is a lot more to this!

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shopping-center-industry-applauds-introduction-of-remote-transactions-parity-act-of-2015-300099313.html

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

lol

Dangerous?

I can get all of that information from just what you have on FAA. They are not asking for anything sensitive. Name address and email. Not even a telephone number.

Dangerous?

Okay...


 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

Yes, there is a lot more to it and the people mostly supporting it are government agencies because it is yet another tax grab by politicians. Others are large business that see it as a way to cut down on competition and smaller business that have not yet seen a way to make the Internet work for them.

The is nothing good in this for anyone that sells on the Internet. There is nothing good in setting the precedence or supporting the governments goal of controlling the Internet. This is just one more step in that process.

Look what is happening in China and Middle East where the government controls what you can see and buy and read and almost every aspect of the Internet. But they themselves use it to spread lies and even terrorism.

Government control is never the answer.

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

On the bright side - Maybe the burden of having to figuring out all of the taxes for 50 states would keep the overseas knock off artists out of the market.

 

Keith Webber Jr

8 Years Ago

That's why I'm Libertarian.
Democrats and Republicans are just two sides of the same coin.
"I'm from the government and I'm here to help, not!!!"

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

One solution would be to push to eliminate of sales tax in your state. You could become like us in NH - no sales tax. You might have to give up a few things like good schools and well maintained roads but at least you wouldn't have to figure out sales tax.
...
BTW - our small downtown in an affluent, college town has lost just about all of our local clothing retail stores. Everytime the owner says its due to online sales.

 

Abbie Shores

8 Years Ago

Keith

Do not bring republican and democrat into this conversation at all thank you.

 

See My Photos

8 Years Ago

It would be easier to move to NH than to eliminate taxes in California. We don't have good schools or roads here and that's with a city budget of 3.2 billion dollars. Great weather that I will now go and enjoy!

 

Adam Jewell

8 Years Ago

While it may or may not be from this bill, taxes do have to come from somewhere.

Amazon and the he have been getting a subsidized ride for quite sometime while local businesses are stuck paying/collecting a lot more in taxes.

Amazon doesn't want to pay, big box retailers don't want to pay -

http://www.ilsr.org/dark-store-tax-tactic-makes-big-box-stores-terrible-deal-for-cities/

At some point basic services start to vanish. While the implementation probably needs some work a little parity in the tax arena would be a good thing.

I'd much prefer to see somewhere like Pennsylvania have the tax $$$ to fix the monster potholes that can destroy the front end of your car when driving below the speed limit than have it siphoned off by the likes of Amazon and company.

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

Beautiful 75 degree day here. Drove around checking out the Bike Week traffic (no nanny state helmet laws here either - no sir!), drove by a section of road where half the bridge recently washed away. Down to one lane. No check from the government when you have to get your car realigned every six months.

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

Keith! I hear you!

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

This has absolute nothing to do with not wanting to pay taxes, it has to do with not wanting the government to control the Internet.

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

I understand but sometimes laissez faire doesn't work. There is a huge sucking sound and its having an impact.

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

The governments everywhere are trying to wrestle as much control of the Internet as they possible can. This is more of a keep the government from controlling the net issue then anything else. Every inch they gain gives them more control our lives. That is ridicules to think they are going to save the schools or fix the roads with that money. They are already getting paid to do those things. But misuse, incompetence and out right thievery is where the money is going. Taxing the net is not going to change that. What in the world would make you believe they are going to all of sudden become more competent and stop stealing just because this law passes. That is PollyAnna if I ever seen it.

But you do what ever you think is right. I am old and have more money than I can possible ever spend and no kids or grand kids to worry about having to live with the bad choices others make. You are limiting their futures by supporting this kind of bad law.

This will not stop with just a new sales tax. It will be yearly raiseses and whole new kinds of taxes. This is government at it's worst.

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

I don't support it. It would be a nightmare for small businesses. I just understand why someone would be trying to stop the losses. Interesting that there is a little r next to his name. I'm surprise he isn't excommunicated.

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

This is the wrong way to stop the loses and it is disingenuous for the big retailers to be supporting this bad law. They already have huge accounting programs tracking sales tax in every state. This is nothing but an attempt to step on the little guys.

And the little guys that are supporting it have not figured out how to use the net to their advantage and don't realize that a lot of small business that ARE making money on the net are spending money in THEIR local stores. That also don't realize that some day they may wake up and all of sudden realized that the net may be an opportunity.

The best way to raise taxes is to raise the success rate of people working and paying taxes. This law is going to put a lot of small business right our of business. A lot of those business have local stores and employees that will probably lose their jobs.

I see people in here all the time complaining about Washington lobbyist. Well look at who is hiring all the big time lobbyist to promote this bad law. The Shopping Center Association? Hey, the don't pay sales tax, they are just being used by their tenants. Some of the giant retailer are also hiring lobbyist to promote this bad law.

There millions of small retails on eBay and Amazon alone that are making some part of their family income on the net. The simply will not be able to do what is necessary to track and compute the sales tax in every state. And if eBay has to develop that system, you can bet that they will be passing that on to those that use it in the way of higher fees.

How many people are going to be put out of business and now on the streets looking for work?

Do you think the pols really care about that? This is so remote that they will never be held accountable. It is a pols dream of a way to raise taxes. It is the wrong way to raise taxes.

A big part of that extra income earned on selling on the net is taxed in the way of income tax and then what is left is spent in the local communities and taxed appropriately, once again.

The idea that Internet sellers are getting a free ride is as bogus as this law is bad.

 

Adam Jewell

8 Years Ago

Of course companies like Amazon are getting a free ride. States have finally woken up to it and now Amazon has to collect in a lot of states.

I agree that dealing with all the complexities of taxing authorities all over the us is too much for many businesses to handle.

"The best way to raise taxes is to raise the success rate of people working and paying taxes."

Haven't we been trying that in the last 20 or so years in the US? Cut taxes and let everyone do what they want to do. That always sounds great but it seems that if you don't already have more money than you'll ever need it doesn't work so well. It just about crashed the world economy and give it a few more years and it will all come crashing down again.

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

So let me get this right Adam, your answer to getting even with Amazon is to pass a law that will more then likely put thousands and thousands of small Amazon, eBay and other online retailers out of business? And you are okay with that?

You do not correct a bad law that has allowed Amazon to get a free ride by passing a worse law that puts innocent people that ae not getting a free ride out of business. That is how we have gotten into the mess we are in. We keep piling one bad law on top of another.

You want to "get even" or stop Amazon's free rid, the address THAT problem. Don't just support a bad law because you think Amazon is some sort of evil company. The thousands of small sellers all over the net deserve better than that.

Let me ask you and everyone else supporting this bad law a question. Are you okay with putting tens if not hundreds of small retailers out of business AND willing to pay a higher fee or take less in commissions on your own online sales, just punish Amazon or to get a pot hole fixed?

If you can live with that... then more power to you all.

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

I don't care how many ways you try to justify this, this is bad law, pure and simple. Playing on the emotions of people suggesting that schools, police and fire and other "hot topic" emotional services are going to be improved is the big lie governments uses every time they want to tax you. Now they are using it to grab more control of one the "people's" greatest resources and bastions of freedoms. They can't stand it and they will not give up until they choke the net to death unless WE THE PEOPLE stop them.

Look at what some are trying to do to FB. They want FB to eliminate all religious pictures. There are people that are protesting even showing the American Flag on FB.

Wait until that finds it way to the Internet in general.

I promote a series of Christmas prints depicting the birth of Christ. I get messages all the time asking me to sign a petition telling FB that they are inappropriate and should not be seen on FB. These idiots don't even realize it was me that put them on FB.

How long before that finds its way to the net? The more control the government gets of the net, the greater the odds are that the pols will cave to PC police and side in their favor.

 

Floyd Snyder

8 Years Ago

We have are never going to agree. Everyone is fee to do what they think is best.

Just make sure you are ready to pass what ever you decide down the line to your kids and their kids.

 

This discussion is closed.