...Online Taxes

With more than 80% of Americans shopping online it is no surprise that the government wants in. How? Taxes! The government wants to tax what you but online. It sounds simple, and I think people would go for it, we pay taxes on the things we buy anyway, in most states anyway. But there is some legal stuff that could complicate all of this. No matter what you are supposed to pay taxes for what you buy online, even if the company does not take them automatically. You are literally supposed to pay the taxes on your own! Send them to the IRS with a bill and a letter, odd. The popular site Amazon.com doe not collect taxes on their merchandise unless they are selling to someone within their state. Now there is a so called "Amazon Law" that would require others to pay an out of state sales tax on the merchandise they buy online.

• The Alabama Department of Revenue is sending letters to random taxpayers, telling them to review their last three years of online purchases and send in a check.

• In February, Colorado enacted the so-called Amazon law, declaring that online retailers were part of an “economic nexus” with state residents. Under the law — which has been challenged in federal court - Amazon and other online retailers are required to calculate the sales tax on every transaction and tell their customers how much they have to pay the state. They’re also required to disclose the identities of their customers and how much they spent, which has set off a fierce dispute over Coloradans’ privacy rights. Amazon says the law was enacted “over our strong objections.” Three other states have enacted laws like the Colorado statute since

• 2008: New York, Rhode Island and North Carolina. And at least a dozen more are considering following their example.

I totally understand the need for this, especially with the economy the way it is and with an expected $8.6 billion in uncollected online taxes this year why the government would want to do this so either way I am okay. I will give this a Digit Down only because I do not want to have to pay the taxes, especially if they apply to a site like ebay...oy vey.