Re:Sorry, Shoppers, but Why Can’t Amazon Collect More Tax?
by gojomo on Sunday December 27, 2009 @01:58PM
(#1017414)
Stross only has <1000 words here, so he leaves out other parts of the case for Amazon paying sales taxes. These include:
- Amazon has commissioned retail sales staff -- via their Associates program -- in every state
- if distant sellers have a cost advantage from arbitrary tax loopholes, then real non-replenishable resources (like fossil fuels, clean air) will be consumed chasing those advantages. If prices indicate the real inputs to a sale, resources are better allocated.
- a broader base for the sales tax would mean less pressure for the rate to rise to make up shortfalls (partially due to commerce moving online). Yes, governments are voracious and irresponsible but dynamically in the long run, more entities paying means a lower rate, and a larger constituency to lobby against rate hikes. Currently, Amazon could secretly be cheering every rise in California sales taxes. (That is, we should prefer to have Amazon on the "pro low taxes for everyone" team, rather than the "pro low taxes just for those with intricate interstate legal arrangements" team.)
- Amazon has commissioned retail sales staff -- via their Associates program -- in every state
- if distant sellers have a cost advantage from arbitrary tax loopholes, then real non-replenishable resources (like fossil fuels, clean air) will be consumed chasing those advantages. If prices indicate the real inputs to a sale, resources are better allocated.
- a broader base for the sales tax would mean less pressure for the rate to rise to make up shortfalls (partially due to commerce moving online). Yes, governments are voracious and irresponsible but dynamically in the long run, more entities paying means a lower rate, and a larger constituency to lobby against rate hikes. Currently, Amazon could secretly be cheering every rise in California sales taxes. (That is, we should prefer to have Amazon on the "pro low taxes for everyone" team, rather than the "pro low taxes just for those with intricate interstate legal arrangements" team.)