Supreme Court Opens The Door To Internet Taxes-What Comes Next Could Be A Lot Worse & Other News
Supreme Court Opens The Door To Internet Taxes – What Comes Next Could Be A Lot Worse –Investors
“Whatever you think about the issue of taxing internet sales, the simple fact is that the Supreme Court has just guaranteed that people across the country will now be paying more in state taxes. It’s hard for us to see how this is good news. In its 5-4 decision on South Dakota v. Wayfair, the court overturned two previous rulings that prevented states from taxing sales of out-of-state companies. That meant a catalog company based in Maine didn’t have to navigate 45 state sales-tax laws to figure out how much each customer owed, and then remit that money to the right states. Brick-and-mortar stores have been trying to lift this ban for decades, because, they say, it unfairly tilts the playing field in favor of catalog and online retailers. According to the Government Accountability Office, this break cost states up to $13.4 billion in lost revenue last year alone. And, retailers say it cost jobs and hurt local economies. Not surprisingly, Amazon.com, Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair and other e-commerce stocks dropped on Thursday….Whatever the merits of the decision, the Court’s ruling means not only higher taxes for consumers, but higher prices.”
