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Just my opinion, but this is a very dangerous issue.
In the monopoly trial of RCA, the US demanded that they distribute their
technology. RCA did so, selling many of the plums directly to the Japanese.
The Japanese then had a lead in consumer electronics for decades.
As far as the internet taxation issue, the government has their blinders on.
They think the U.S. is the center of the world. Will the revenues go to the
Federal, State, or City level?
What they have forgotten is exactly what the internet is, a global network.
All a major internet company has to do is move offshore. I can buy from them
just as easily, and it arrives just a few days later. If there is a problem
with this, I can order from foreign corporations directly just as easily.
See the problem? Fight over the size of the piece, and give away the pie.
There are also some people who would have you believe that the internet is a
tax haven for the rich, and rich companies. They say that we should tax
internet transactions to prevent the raping of the poor.
Those guys are just asking us to seal our own doom. The internet is the
great equalizer, and 'Joe Blow' can set up a webpage selling sunglasses,
books, tarantulas, etc. The founders of most of our great companies have
been in this category.
If taxation on the internet succeeds, that will no longer be true. In order
to set up your own internet business, you'll need to be familiar with
labyrinthine tax laws, and as yet unknown levels of complicated software.
So ask yourself this: Do they want to tax the internet to keep 'what we
have' from being taken by the rich, or would it simply destroy the greatest
opportunity we have to make it?
Just what I see.
Beware a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Darrin
>From: "JW" <JW@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: JW@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: <realtraders@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [RT] RE: Real Estate Article
>Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 00:28:06 -0800
>
>There is no question that the internet will have sales taxes down the road.
>In the USA, sales taxes are used to fund many services. Should the brick &
>mortar crown pay taxes and net vendors not? I don't think so.
>
>But there are two problems:
>
>1. How do enforce tax collections against non-U.S. companies? What would
>encourage them to incur the overhead of collecting, reporting and
>forwarding taxes to the respective municipalities?
>
>2. And the incredible variety of tax laws implemented by every state,
>county, municipality, etc. is certainly a further deterrent. But there are
>supposedly 7000+ different sales tax rates throughout the US. One company
>(I forget the name) has said that they can handle this number of variables
>and would like to act as the clearing house for either providing software
>to
>do the job or else collect the taxes?
>
>It would seem that we first need to have one standardized tax rate, set on
>a
>national level before we can consider implementing net taxation. This
>still
>doesn't address the issue of off-shore taxation but I'm sure there are ways
>to address this (maybe make the credit card companies be the tax
>collectors?
>They would add the tax to all purchases, collect it and remit it to a
>central distribution agency). And if we go with net-money instead of
>credit
>cards, then they will have to collect the taxes.
>
>Actually, the more I think about this, the more complicated the whole issue
>seems. Maybe the only real solution is no sales taxes and a flat tax on
>all
>income without deductions at the national and state level <shrug>?
>
>JW
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Jay Mackro [mailto:jmackro@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
>Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2000 8:21 AM
>To: JW@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: [RT] Real Estate Article
>
>
>JW:
>
>Good article - thanks for posting it. But, I believe it is naive in one
>respect:
>
> >The International Council of Shopping
> >Centers and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts
>joined
> >the so-called e-Fairness Coalition to oppose favorable tax treatment for
> >online transactions. They hope to increase customer costs and slow the
> >growth of e-commerce. The ploy is completely misdirected. In many cases,
> >buying online is more convenient – it offers better comparison shopping,
> >provides greater selection, is less expensive and saves time in
>comparison
> >to brick-and-mortar stores. Manipulating the sales tax issue will not
>force
> >shoppers back to stores.
>
>
>Oh, everyone knows that, including The International Council of Shopping
>Centers and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.
>But, real estate developers provide a HUGE source of campaign
>contributions, and sales taxes (obviously) provide a HUGE source of
>government funds which may be used for patronage, buying votes through
>entitlement programs, ... So, here's an opportunity for these two groups -
>developers & politicians - to join forces for the purpose of increasing
>the proportion of the economy that goes into the public sector. Wow,
>there is no way this isn't going to happen. And, as usual, they have a
>"cover" for what they are doing - call it "sales tax fairness", or "keeping
>business on Main Street instead of Wall Street", or the ubiquitous
>"Save the Children".
>
>Sorry to come across like some right wing nut case, but I am
>pessimistic that internet sales taxes aren't going to become a
>reality.
>
>Jay Mackro
>
>
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