Slide 23 of 27
Notes:
Not everyone, of course, thinks that failure to tax Internet and other remote sales is a problem.
The critics of remote sales taxation raise several objections:
- Equity is not a problem because brick and mortar retailers are always free to develop their own e-commerce capacities.
- The revenue loss is small relative to total sales and use tax revenues and, besides, in these good times, the states don’t really need the money.
- E-commerce is in its infancy and states should not use taxation to smother it in its crib.
- Creation of databases in which taxable transactions are accumulated could lead to violations of privacy.
- If states are successful in collecting taxes on remote sales, e-commerce could move off shore, making collection virtually impossible.