Online tax moving at high speed

I think the time has come to check on the stability of the people coming up with one more way to knock our state down. We already stole our children's education by cutting teacher's pay and classroom time, there are now those who are considering shortening prisoner's "time", lower sentences?, and even offering intense probation or drug abuse programs. So...where does the money come from for the intense probation officers & the drug programs? (The only decent proposal I see is them considering stopping people on probation who are then arrested during this probation, and still entitled to bail....for this I have proof that it happens....But back to the issue....We are being taxed, retaxed, punished for daring to make 60 grand a year, what is left to tax...until we drive everyone out of our fair state?....."Wrong Color Of The Day Tax?" or "You Wore A Hat on Tuesday Tax"....yes these are preposterous taxes I suggest, but think of how many preposterous taxes we are enduring as of late.....(temporary gas tax hike...or temporary food tax?) Internet trade is obviously the wave of the future...it's been going along fine. We were a very desirable state for businesses at one time, but it seems these long-established companies that were here....are now located in other states. Maybe instead of taxing us to the point of wanting to move away....the "powers that be" can look in their own backyard for their own budget cuts, elimination of committees for everything under the sun,and so on. I think much money will be rediscovered, without the usual costly probes after the "powers" are caught (ex:school bus scandal Black's schemes, and now Easley is being checked...)....

The Democratic Party in NC just does not understand the process where small business is important. But they know how to spend $14 million plus on a fishing pier in Basnight's district.

Had enough? Vote Republican!

Click-Through Provision Levels the Playing Field With Amazon

Over the past few weeks, much has been made of the so-called "Amazon Provision" endorsed by Governor Perdue and Senate and House Leadership that would require e-commerce retailers to collect sales tax for purchases made in North Carolina. Under this provision, e-commerce retailers using affiliates that generate over $10,000 in sales per year via “click-through” ads on an affiliate’s website would be required to collect North Carolina sales tax. Governor Perdue, House and Senate Leadership should be applauded for their efforts to level the playing field for North Carolina businesses with out-of-state e-retailers.

First Amazon.com and then Overstock.com announced that they were ending their affiliate programs in North Carolina and creating a grassroots campaign to defeat the proposal. Amazon has already hired lobbyists and sent corporate executives to Raleigh to actively lobby against this provision. Quite a sophisticated effort from a company that claims collecting North Carolina sales tax is too complicated and too burdensome. Based on a law similar to the one being considered in North Carolina, Amazon has been collecting sales tax in New York since June 1, 2008.

Amazon’s argument that collecting sales tax in North Carolina is too difficult or too burdensome rings hollow. There are many smaller and less technologically sophisticated e-commerce retailers that voluntarily collect sales tax in North Carolina. It is not that Amazon cannot collect the sales tax here or that it is too burdensome – they just do not want to do it. If Amazon truly cannot understand how collecting sales tax works, maybe they should click on their own website and order one of the many available books explaining sales tax such as “The Sales Tax in the 21st Century”, “Understanding and Managing Sales and Use Tax”, U.S. Master Sales and Use Tax Guide” or “Sales and Use Tax Answer Book.”

While brick and mortar retailers have struggled through a dismal economy with many permanently closing their doors, Amazon announced a record holiday season in 2008 bragging that they were selling 72.9 items every second and shipping to 210 different countries. The large majority of these purchases did not include sales tax. This gives e-commerce retailers a whopping 6.75% price advantage in North Carolina. Brick and mortar stores simply want to level the playing field.

Amazon argues they are standing up for their small business affiliates, but what about the small retailers that Amazon is putting out of business because of the competitive advantage gained by not charging sales tax? Maybe it was your local book store, sporting goods, shoe store, clothing or golf store that recently shut its doors and its employees went to the unemployment line. These local retailers provide jobs, pay property taxes, employment taxes, and collect sales taxes that pay for the very roads that Amazon uses to deliver products to North Carolina citizens and for the very landfills where their boxes inevitably end up.

While Amazon and Overstock argue that this issue is about protecting their small business affiliates, the clear and unsurprising reality is Amazon and Overstock are only focused on one thing - their profits. As far back as 2004, Amazon predicted the following in its annual report to Amazon shareholders:

“A successful assertion by one or more states...that we should collect sales or other taxes on the sale of merchandise or services could result in substantial tax liabilities for past sales, decrease our ability to compete with traditional retailers, and otherwise harm our retailers,” the report stated, adding, “various taxes upon Internet commerce could create administrative burdens for us and decrease our future sales.”

As a $90 billion industry, the Retail Industry is a huge economic driver in North Carolina employing an estimated 654,000 people and collecting over $4.5 billion in sales taxes annually. Looking at it another way, North Carolina loses thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in uncollected sales tax due to companies like Amazon and Overstock. The North Carolina General Assembly is struggling to find a way to plug a $4 billion deficit and is debating a sales tax increase which only gives e-commerce retailers a larger advantage. If Amazon and Overstock were doing the right thing and collecting sales tax, maybe the State would not be in such a bind and the sales tax could even be lowered for all purchases made in North Carolina.

Can anyone provide additional information on the economic development deal that Asheville lost because of this proposed tax?

Budget negotiators know that they will not get any additional tax revenue, now that e-commerce merchants are terminating advertising contracts with NC website owners. Their motivation appears to be anger at Amazon, and they are putting that ahead of the interest of NC taxpayers. I heard yesterday that Asheville lost a 150 job economic development deal over this legislation. I'm leaving the state too as soon as this passes, taking my business and income taxes with me.

Needed revenue is a pretense.
The reality is that Kaminski is making money - he's got to go.

When the moneymakers are gone, there'll be more easy pickins.
Can't we just kill NC and put it out of its misery?
(If this were go-fish, I'd have already gotten what I asked for)