Reading this; h/t Mike
The solution is dirt simple.
Since this is genuine interstate commerce, Congress can stick it's ugly head into it.
They can pass a law.
All it has to do is define WHERE the transaction takes place.
The simplest solution is to have the commerce occur in the jurisdiction of the vendor. That way they only have to learn the tax laws of where they're physically located (just like a brick and mortar retailer). That is both simple and fair.
Demanding the taxes be collected based on the customer's location opens up a sticky wicket. A tar baby I don't want sitting on the log next to me!
Customer based taxes open the door to collecting those taxes when we're not at home. Although it might be amusing to only have to pay the 7% sales tax Florida and my county impose while in a place where the state sales taxes are much higher, like Minnesota.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has this fascinating concept they call a use tax. If you live in PA and buy a product or service somewhere that doesn't collect sales tax but plan to use it in PA, you're expected to self-report and pay an amount equal to what the sales tax would have been had you made the purchase from a business in PA. Examples listed on the state department of revenue web site include buying over the phone from a catalog, buying from a store in a state where you're vacationing that has sales tax but doesn't charge you sales tax because they shipped your purchase home for you, or driving across the state line into tax free Delaware to buy a desk to use in your home or get your watch repaired. I'm too lazy to research it, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that the self-reported PA use tax isn't a huge revenue generator.
ReplyDelete