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Yes, it definitely does level the playing field between brick & mortar business and online businesses, and to a certain extent amongst states. What would have b

Yes, it definitely does level the playing field between brick & mortar business and online businesses, and to a certain extent amongst states. What would have been really interesting is if the taxes revenues went to the state that the business was operating out of. Unfortunately, that'd probably just mean more tax revenue for either Delaware or the existing tech hubs of America. I think it's because of this fact that a more complex system is necessary. It's much more fair to the states.

ohhlx 14y ago
How does this level the field between brick & mortar and online business? I manage operations for a small brand that operates both as an online business (recent venture) and brick & mortar (2 stores, 2 different states). It seems that this would help us by taxing us more and increasing our IT costs in terms of implementation? If you are operating a small business (retailers,service provider) in this day and age - it is almost a necessity to have some online presence. With the existence of simple ecommerce tools like shopify and bigcommerce at the hands of traditional businesses making entry simple - added restrictions may deter these brick & mortar businesses from entering the online space at all.
- seliopou 14y ago
  If goods are taxed more businesses raise their prices. Businesses aren't being taxed. Consumers are. The only cost businesses have to pay is the cost of implementing the system, which is a fixed cost that you'll pay off over time. Also, you're kindof proving my point by stating that these new policies may deter brick & mortar businesses from entering the online space. A brick & mortar business by definition doesn't have an e-commerce presence. Ones that do have a hybrid business model. For those, there's an interesting dynamic that management will face that's a close reflection of what the greater market will have to deal with, i.e., which side of the business to invest in. But anyways, if you admit that brick & mortar businesses will be deterred from moving to e-commerce, then you're admitting that the brick & mortal model is more competitive under the new tax regime.
  - jonpeda 14y ago
    > If goods are taxed more businesses raise their prices. Businesses aren't being taxed. Consumers are. This is entirely dependent on which part of the supply chain has the fiercest competition. Sometimes consumers get the economic profit and pay cost (commodities) and sometimes the producers do (monopolies, who already charge what the market will bear)
jonpeda 14y ago
Sales tax should go to the state where the buyer is, since the buyer is almost always the human person in the transaction. The only reason that it goes to the seller is that sellers are easier to regulate than individual buyers. With modern IT, that's not an issue anymore.
dragonwriter 14y ago
> Yes, it definitely does level the playing field between brick & mortar business and online businesses, and to a certain extent amongst states. Which is the source of much of the opposition: Reps from sales tax-free states oppose it because the current regime encourages internet-based retailers to locate operations in those states, an incentive which will be removed if states with sales taxes can apply them to sales from vendors in sales-tax-free states.

ohhlx 14y ago

How does this level the field between brick & mortar and online business? I manage operations for a small brand that operates both as an online business (recent venture) and brick & mortar (2 stores, 2 different states). It seems that this would help us by taxing us more and increasing our IT costs in terms of implementation? If you are operating a small business (retailers,service provider) in this day and age - it is almost a necessity to have some online presence. With the existence of simple ecommerce tools like shopify and bigcommerce at the hands of traditional businesses making entry simple - added restrictions may deter these brick & mortar businesses from entering the online space at all.

seliopou 14y ago
If goods are taxed more businesses raise their prices. Businesses aren't being taxed. Consumers are. The only cost businesses have to pay is the cost of implementing the system, which is a fixed cost that you'll pay off over time. Also, you're kindof proving my point by stating that these new policies may deter brick & mortar businesses from entering the online space. A brick & mortar business by definition doesn't have an e-commerce presence. Ones that do have a hybrid business model. For those, there's an interesting dynamic that management will face that's a close reflection of what the greater market will have to deal with, i.e., which side of the business to invest in. But anyways, if you admit that brick & mortar businesses will be deterred from moving to e-commerce, then you're admitting that the brick & mortal model is more competitive under the new tax regime.
- jonpeda 14y ago
  > If goods are taxed more businesses raise their prices. Businesses aren't being taxed. Consumers are. This is entirely dependent on which part of the supply chain has the fiercest competition. Sometimes consumers get the economic profit and pay cost (commodities) and sometimes the producers do (monopolies, who already charge what the market will bear)

jonpeda 14y ago

Sales tax should go to the state where the buyer is, since the buyer is almost always the human person in the transaction. The only reason that it goes to the seller is that sellers are easier to regulate than individual buyers. With modern IT, that's not an issue anymore.

dragonwriter 14y ago

> Yes, it definitely does level the playing field between brick & mortar business and online businesses, and to a certain extent amongst states. Which is the source of much of the opposition: Reps from sales tax-free states oppose it because the current regime encourages internet-based retailers to locate operations in those states, an incentive which will be removed if states with sales taxes can apply them to sales from vendors in sales-tax-free states.