4 ms·

Not quite sure what your point is. I was referring to one of Stallman's points which was basically that they are "dodging taxes" in the US. They're not and are

Not quite sure what your point is. I was referring to one of Stallman's points which was basically that they are "dodging taxes" in the US. They're not and are increasingly collecting sales taxes as they are opening facilities in more and more states as they expand their offerings, just as the law dictates.

Zikes 12y ago
Walmart's political action committee is vigorously campaigning for laws to enforce sales taxes on all online sales, seemingly as a direct result of Amazon. I would imagine if Amazon were doing anything overtly dodgy in that regard, Walmart would likely be fairly vocal about it.
- strictnein 12y ago
  Amazon is on board for online sales taxes, and have been since 2012 [0]. They rightly see it now as a obstacle to future competition, as collecting sales taxes for the thousands of jurisdictions in the US is very difficult. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/carney-amazon-joins-walmart-in-push-for-online-sales-tax/article/2503738 http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/carney-amazon-joins-walmar...
baddox 12y ago
Without a robust definition of "dodging taxes," I'm not going to buy the argument. A lot of people use phrases like that to refer to completely legal practices designed to minimize taxes.
- amyjess 12y ago
  And this is why there's a distinction between "tax avoidance" and "tax evasion". Tax avoidance refers to using legal means to reduce your tax bill. Tax evasion means illegally not paying your taxes.
  - baddox 12y ago
    Yeah, and "dodging taxes" doesn't clearly distinguish between the too. Also note that a lot of people oppose perfectly legal tax avoidance techniques that they consider to be loopholes.
    - amyjess 12y ago
      Agreed. I was going to put something in my post like "and that's why a good argument will make it clear which one you're talking about", but I ended up forgetting to put it in. Also, tax avoidance is just plain smart. Any for-profit business that doesn't practice tax avoidance is just throwing away money.
      - jakobegger 12y ago
        Paying taxes is not throwing away money, its contributing back to the society that you profit from. Contributing as little as legally possible is not 'sensible' it's greedy.
        baddox 12y ago
        So why not give more? You can donate directly to the US Treasury. What are the odds that the tax laws get exactly the optimal revenue?
        amyjess 12y ago
        They're a business. A business is obligated to make money.
    - Guvante 12y ago
      Not charging sales tax is technically legal but certainly a grey area. Since almost every state that has a sales tax has a use tax you are just shifting the burden of reporting onto your consumer. The reality is most people don't report (or under-report) their required use tax so you are really assisting them in committing tax evasion. So while not directly illegal, certainly not fully legal.

Zikes 12y ago

Walmart's political action committee is vigorously campaigning for laws to enforce sales taxes on all online sales, seemingly as a direct result of Amazon. I would imagine if Amazon were doing anything overtly dodgy in that regard, Walmart would likely be fairly vocal about it.

strictnein 12y ago
Amazon is on board for online sales taxes, and have been since 2012 [0]. They rightly see it now as a obstacle to future competition, as collecting sales taxes for the thousands of jurisdictions in the US is very difficult. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/carney-amazon-joins-walmart-in-push-for-online-sales-tax/article/2503738 http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/carney-amazon-joins-walmar...

baddox 12y ago

Without a robust definition of "dodging taxes," I'm not going to buy the argument. A lot of people use phrases like that to refer to completely legal practices designed to minimize taxes.

amyjess 12y ago
And this is why there's a distinction between "tax avoidance" and "tax evasion". Tax avoidance refers to using legal means to reduce your tax bill. Tax evasion means illegally not paying your taxes.
- baddox 12y ago
  Yeah, and "dodging taxes" doesn't clearly distinguish between the too. Also note that a lot of people oppose perfectly legal tax avoidance techniques that they consider to be loopholes.
  - amyjess 12y ago
    Agreed. I was going to put something in my post like "and that's why a good argument will make it clear which one you're talking about", but I ended up forgetting to put it in. Also, tax avoidance is just plain smart. Any for-profit business that doesn't practice tax avoidance is just throwing away money.
    - jakobegger 12y ago
      Paying taxes is not throwing away money, its contributing back to the society that you profit from. Contributing as little as legally possible is not 'sensible' it's greedy.
      - baddox 12y ago
        So why not give more? You can donate directly to the US Treasury. What are the odds that the tax laws get exactly the optimal revenue?
      - amyjess 12y ago
        They're a business. A business is obligated to make money.
  - Guvante 12y ago
    Not charging sales tax is technically legal but certainly a grey area. Since almost every state that has a sales tax has a use tax you are just shifting the burden of reporting onto your consumer. The reality is most people don't report (or under-report) their required use tax so you are really assisting them in committing tax evasion. So while not directly illegal, certainly not fully legal.