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So I realize this opinion will be unpopular, but the tax nexus issue is huge and really is unfair. California residents are legally obligated to pay sales tax
by kemiller 15y ago
So I realize this opinion will be unpopular, but the tax nexus issue is huge and really is unfair. California residents are legally obligated to pay sales tax on online purchases from out of state, but of course, no one does because Amazon et al have gone out of their way to avoid having to collect it. They effectively get a free ride, tax-wise, which just forces the taxes to go higher everywhere else.
The big box stores you mention obviously have an interest in all this, but it genuinely does hurt the local mom and pop's too.
It really needs to be fixed federally, though, or you get the kind of nose-cutting behavior you see from Amazon. Losing California from their affiliate program would hurt more than the states that came before.
- kposehn 15y agoI agree with the federal point - it needs to be solved there. The mom and pop businesses that get hurt though are hurt far more by Wal-Mart et al, not Amazon.
- kemiller 15y agoYes and no. In some places, certainly. In lots of urban California, not at all. Not a Wal-mart in sight, but lots of local shops and plenty of Amazon customers. As a rational shopper, your best course of action for anything over $100 that you don't need today is to check it out in the local store and then buy it from Amazon. Kinda sucks for the folks stuck maintaining storefront and inventory to have to do so with an almost 10% handicap.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]