Comment Smoke and Mirrors (Score 2) 623
This comment section shows why our government has so many problems: citizens who blindly believe political rhetoric as fact and then continue to spout it and vote along lines which further the goals of the spin-doctors.
Examples:
50% of the people in the US pay no taxes and it isn't the rich.
Defense spending is where all the money goes.
Neither of the above is anywhere near the truth.
Every political entity has its own agenda and in a case like this one, so do businesses.
Amazon and the e-tailers have one: continue sales without tax to maintain the margin advantage.
Big brick and mortar stores (Walmart and such) have an agenda as well: to reduce e-tailer advertising in Cali because they are well aware that collecting state specific taxes for an e-tailer is not feasible. (Far too many variations in tax laws in the US.)
Customers will not see any direct changes: brick and mortar prices will remain what they are and e-tailer prices- and taxes- will also not change. The only losers will be those California residents who earn a portion of their income from advertising. They will not be getting paid by companies like Amazon anymore.
This is what I believe will actually happen, not spin, not an agenda. I don't live in California and the case has no direct bearing on me.
Discussing defense spending or the Teabag Party idea that half of the people in the US are not citizens is just muddying the waters and allowing politicians free reign to continue to mislead the public and treat us as idiots.
This is about sales tax people, and the fact that the Federal government needs to reform sales tax as it applies to internet vendors.
The vendors can NOT afford to deal with each and every tax code in the country- it is far too complex at this time, and if they comply with one out of state code they will have to comply with all of them.
However, local government does have the right to put their own codes in place- except where it conflicts with federal law.
A federal law that requires a common tax rate for the entire US, supercedes local code and applies to online vendors is needed.
As someone who purchases online as much as possible, I enjoy how often I am not taxed- but I recognize the need.
Now- discussing the issue at hand is what the founding fathers intended when this country began.
Dicussing other issues- defense spending, immigration, foreign wars- that is what the current political parties would prefer we do as a people. It keeps us from paying attention to what is really going on and lets them maintain the status quo.
Your choice folks.