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Speak Out
Drop the sales tax
In his letter in the March 8 issue of the Resident, Alan Caras suggests that sales tax should apply to Internet businesses and claims that sales tax on Internet sales is a "slam dunk."
To which states should sales tax be applied? The state of the seller, or of the purchaser? If the seller, then that will inevitably lead to states with no sales tax having a sudden surge in e-commerce sites. If that of the purchaser, is that where the purchaser is at the time of purchase or where the purchaser resides or where the goods are to be mailed?
Caras says if the enabling legislation in the states is not enacted it is because it would either be difficult to enforce or would damage their economy by driving e-commerce out of the state.
You could argue that the problem is not that Internet sales have no tax, it is that store sales do. Sales tax is regressive and is leveraged disproportionately on people with lower wages, who spend a higher proportion of their net income.
Simon Patience
Los Gatos
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
