> -----Original Message----- > From: Lester Caine [mailto:lester@xxxxxxxxxxx] > Sent: Friday, July 20, 2012 4:05 AM > To: php-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: Re: Re: [PHP-WEBMASTER] Re: [PHP] The Cat Signal > > Paul M Foster wrote: > > Here's another one: There are currently discussions in the U.S. > > Congress in favor of forcing internet vendors to charge sales tax > > on*all* sales, regardless of whether the vendor has a presence in that > state or not. > > Imagine having to file state sales tax returns in 50 states. This > > effort has rather significant bipartisan support. Now ask yourself > > what large corporation with brick and mortar stores *wouldn't* sign on > > to support this one? That's what you're up against. You've got > > Amazon.com on your side. Yay. You might want to get busy on that one. > > In Europe VAT is applied even on on-line sales. It is the likes of Amazon > shipping bulk stock from overseas 'clients' into European warehouses and > then supplying them without VAT added directly in Europe that is the > problem! How can I compete with someone who is also giving next day > delivery, but 20% cheaper ... > American sellers are one of the problems here. > > There are two sides to every problem and simply fighting for one side is as > bad. > What is needed is a reasoned debate rather than things like 'The Cat Signal' > which personally I find as objectionable as the laws it's complaining about! > > -- > Lester Caine - G8HFL > ----------------------------- > Contact - http://lsces.co.uk/wiki/?page=contact > L.S.Caine Electronic Services - http://lsces.co.uk EnquirySolve - > http://enquirysolve.com/ Model Engineers Digital Workshop - > http://medw.co.uk Rainbow Digital Media - http://rainbowdigitalmedia.co.uk > > > > -- > PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php This sounds more like a business annoyance than an internet freedom problem, but okay. Technically, in the US, I thought it is the end-consumer that needs to pay a sales tax to the state where they live. Consumer retail businesses are required to tack them on at the point of sale as a convenience for both the consumer and the government, then pass the money on. The seller only pays taxes, to the municipality(s) where their business is physically located, based on their net profit. So the sales tax itself does not come out of the company's pocket. The company bears the cost of tracking, processing, and forwarding the taxes to the government(s) involved, but that is a deductible expense. Sales taxes are a tedious, but not costly, normal business expense. Really, how hard is it for computer savvy people to sort their sales transactions by customer's state and sum up the sales tax amounts paid so they can write a check every quarter. Many businesses would be happy to have to mail 50 checks every quarter, one to each state. That means they are making sales in every state! That sounds like a profitable business to me. And as far as filling out 50 sales and use tax forms each quarter, they have these things called computers now that make pulling in data and printing forms happen at the touch of a button. Maybe some enterprising programmer could write software to do just that and sell it on the internet. We need to stop playing idealistic revolutionary and help shape real solutions. The fact that you are allowed to run a business on the internet is the internet freedom you are looking for. You have won the revolution! Now, deal with the realities of running a business. Putting your business on the internet should not be a magic pass to avoid the costs of doing business. We need to admit we are part of the system and figure out a streamlined way for internet businesses to pay their fair share. The "Free" in free economy does not mean it doesn't cost money, time, effort, etc. to do business. The internet is not a magic cloud run by fairy dust. The internet was created by military and higher educational systems, both tax supported entities. Corporations and governments maintain the infrastructure that keeps the internet working. Without governments and corporations there would be no internet. They are the internet. The alternative is to go back to ham radios. Sorry for the rant, this is a hot button topic for me. Jeff Burcher - IT Dept Allred Metal Stamping PO Box 2566 High Point, NC 27261 (336)886-5221 x229 jeff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
