Comment Re:'Allowed' to collect taxes (Score 2) 548
As has been said here before, if I, an Ohioan, buy something from Newegg.com in CA, my state of residence has no idea about it. They can't compel Newegg to collect tax on my behalf like they can Best Buy.
Ohio is not allowed to tax purchases I make across state lines per Article I, Section 10. They get around that by taxing the use of the item rather than the sale. So on my Ohio taxes, there's a line where I declare any purchases I made that were not subject to sales tax. They then tax me on the use of the item at the same tax rate as if I'd have bought it locally. It's all entirely voluntary. I can put down $0 and they'd never know the difference. It's tax evasion, but it's really hard for them to prove.
This bill "would allow states to collect sales taxes from remote sellers if they sign on to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA), a 12-year-old effort to meet the Supreme Court's requirements to simplify sales tax collection, or if they adopt a so-called alternative tax simplification plan." [quoted from the article]
So that's why we have the bill.