Online Sales Tax For (Almost) All Inches Closer To Reality

[DarkTower87]

The halcyon days of not paying sales tax (even though you're obliged to) on your Amazon purchases may be coming to an end once and for all, as members of Congress are doing more than just talking about the issue. Next Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the merits of creating a law allowing states to compel online retailers to collect sales taxes.
As a result of a 1992 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, many online retailers have been able to get away with no collecting taxes in states in which they don't have a physical presence.
In recent years, cash-strapped states have gone after e-tailers -- specifically Amazon -- by saying that affiliate programs, which allow smaller, sometimes brick-and-mortar, vendors to sell items through Amazon effectively creates a physical presence in that state.



http://consumerist.com/2012/07/onlin...o-reality.html

[BigE4u]

Like most stores online that offer goods at a certain price with "free shipping".... they could hide the tax and shipping costs in the total price that still atracts customers.

[Clone of 501]

Thank god Congress is trying to solve real problems.