Specifically, Colorado’s law requires remote sellers that don’t collect applicable sales taxes to do three things: The law also requires remote sellers to report some customer purchase information to the state’s department of revenue so that it can take steps to collect the tax directly from buyers when it decides it is cost-effective to do so. In the absence of a federal solution, Colorado enacted an innovative law that requires remote sellers that don’t charge sales taxes to inform their customers that they likely still owe them. Senate in 2013, no further congressional action seems imminent. To address these problems, state and local officials have long sought enactment of a federal law reversing the Supreme Court decision and empowering them to require large remote sellers to charge applicable sales taxes regardless of whether they’re physically present in a state. It also puts local merchants who must charge sales tax at a significant pricing disadvantage in competing with remote sellers that don’t have to, reducing their sales and further harming local job creation. That’s unfortunate, because states’ inability to collect all sales taxes due on Internet, catalog, and other remote sales impedes their ability to fund education, health care, and other critical building blocks of thriving communities and strong economies. Many people still don’t know this, however, and most of those who do ignore the law. Nonetheless, if someone buys something online or from a catalog that would be subject to sales tax if she bought it in a local store, she’s legally obligated in every state to pay the tax directly to her state revenue department if the seller doesn’t include tax in the bill. The Supreme Court has held that a state can’t require an out-of-state retailer to charge sales tax to its residents unless the seller has a facility, employees, or some other kind of physical presence in the state. By adopting a version of a law enacted in Colorado that requires the seller to remind customers of their payment obligations, states can increase the revenue available for public services and level the playing field on which in-state and out-of-state sellers compete. States can increase the revenue available for public services and level the playing field on which in-state and out-of-state sellers compete.States lose billions of dollars each year because many people and businesses that purchase items on the Internet or through catalogs aren’t aware of or ignore the fact that they owe sales tax even if the merchant doesn’t charge it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |