{"id":696,"date":"2013-04-21T14:20:56","date_gmt":"2013-04-21T21:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=696"},"modified":"2013-04-21T14:20:56","modified_gmt":"2013-04-21T21:20:56","slug":"internet-sales-should-be-taxed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/04\/internet-sales-should-be-taxed\/","title":{"rendered":"Internet sales should be taxed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"new<\/a>The Washington Post reports that the Senate is soon to vote on the issue of sales taxes on goods sold over the internet<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Senate is planning to vote on a bill as soon as Monday that would give states the authority to collect sales taxes on all Internet purchases, handing local governments as much as $11 billion per year in added revenue that they are legally owed \u2014 but that hasn\u2019t been paid to them for years. …<\/p>\n

As states have become more strapped for cash since the recession, local officials have fought back. New York passed an \u201cAmazon tax\u201d in 2008 that forced the giant online retailer to collect sales taxes from shoppers who live in the state, even though Amazon didn\u2019t have a brick-and-mortar presence there.<\/p>\n

Others followed suit. Currently nine states require Amazon to collect sales tax, including California, Pennsylvania and Texas.<\/p>\n

The bill<\/a> introduced by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), called the Marketplace Fairness Act, would grant all states the power to collect taxes from out-of-state vendors selling goods to their residents.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The tax proposal is framed in terms of fairness to brick-and-mortar stores that do<\/em> have to collect sales tax, and as an extra source of revenue for state and local governments, which could certainly use it.<\/p>\n

But there is a better reason. Tax systems work best when they can collect revenues without unduly distorting the choices made by individuals as they go about their business. A tax code that favors entrepreneurs in one sector over another will steer new business into that sector not based on the opportunities that are there in terms of selling a valued service, but because of the tax break. As these distortions multiply we all become worse off; the economy performs less well when government rules skew the choices we make on where to invest, work, or buy. A sales tax system that favors internet sales over local purchases is not healthy – it generates over-investment in internet retailing and under-investment in physical stores.<\/p>\n

I like the convenience and choices that come from internet sales of books, cd’s (yes, I still buy those old things), and clothes. But I should pay sales tax on those purchases just as I do at local shops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Washington Post reports that the Senate is soon to vote on the issue of sales taxes on goods sold over the internet: The Senate is planning to vote on a bill as soon as Monday that would give states the authority to collect sales taxes on all Internet purchases, handing local governments as much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-issues","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-be","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1170,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/03\/taxing-music-downloads\/","url_meta":{"origin":696,"position":0},"title":"Taxing Music Downloads","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Europeans have been able to avoid high home-country tax rates on downloads of songs and books by purchasing through Luxembourg. The UK wants to put a stop to that. The Guardian reports: George Osborne's latest\u00a0budget\u00a0could spell an end to 99p song\u00a0downloads\u00a0by closing a tax loophole that meant consumers were paying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"get your downloads here","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Luxembourg.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1357,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/06\/earmarked-taxes-for-the-arts\/","url_meta":{"origin":696,"position":1},"title":"Earmarked taxes for the arts","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"June 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night Mecklenburg County (where Charlotte, NC is) commissioners voted to approve a referendum on increasing the sales tax by a quarter of a cent, some of which would be dedicated to culture: 7.5% of the proceeds to the Arts & Science Council and 5% of the proceeds to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"I admit only having been to the airport","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/charlotte-north-carolina.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/charlotte-north-carolina.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/charlotte-north-carolina.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":965,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/07\/amazon-and-the-independents\/","url_meta":{"origin":696,"position":2},"title":"Amazon and the independents","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"July 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Two stories linked by artsjournal.com today about Amazon: gigaom.com (?) on how Amazon is further cutting prices on hardbacks, and the American Booksellers Association upset that President Obama held a major speech on jobs at an Amazon warehouse. Observations: First, while I possess no special insights into what goes on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"can I help you find something?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/youve_got_mail_063udz92-300x168.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1025,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/02\/nea-funding-and-the-ecological-fallacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":696,"position":3},"title":"NEA funding and the ecological fallacy","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The SMU study has a serious problem","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"rich town poor town doesn't matter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/openingnight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1807,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2015\/01\/who-bears-the-burden-of-auction-house-fees-buyers-or-sellers\/","url_meta":{"origin":696,"position":4},"title":"Who bears the burden of auction house fees, buyers or sellers?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"January 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Blog neighbour Lee Rosenbaum writes today about increases in premiums Sotheby's auction house, speculating that Christie's will soon follow suit. She writes: Here are Sotheby\u2019s new charges (with old ones in parentheses), effective Feb. 1: Buyers will be charged 25% of first $200,000 (previously $100,000) of the hammer price; 20%\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"beast of burden","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/auction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/auction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/auction.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1570,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/10\/tax-deductions-for-artists\/","url_meta":{"origin":696,"position":5},"title":"Tax deductions for artists (updated)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"October 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Times reports on a court case involving whether an artist working for salary as teaching faculty can claim tax deductions of artist's expenses (for supplies, travel, meals, etc) in excess of profits earned on sales of art. My understanding of this (tax people please correct me if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"operates at a loss","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Goat.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}