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Amazon going to tax NE residents.
JTH:
--- Quote from: GreyGeek on December 26, 2016, 11:13:44 AM ---I forgot to mention that NE will be collecting past history from Amazon and other Internet sales outlets and matching up reported internet sales with actual Internet sales.
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For the sake of my curiosity, what legal right gives Nebraska the ability to collect past history regarding sales from companies not in this state?
Kendahl:
--- Quote from: newfalguy101 on December 26, 2016, 01:34:07 PM ---I wonder how many thousands of dollars the state will spend chasing hundreds of dollars in unreported taxes........
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Depending on how much people have bought on line from vendors who didn't charge sales tax to out-of-state customers, it could be substantial. I know of people who do all their Christmas shopping on line. The gifts are shipped directly to the recipients. All the buyer sees is a line in his next credit card statement.
I don't understand why Amazon, or any other on line vendor, would do this voluntarily. It puts them at a competitive disadvantage compared to their competition. Usually, there is a trade off between sales tax and shipping. If you have to pay both, there is no longer a reason to buy on line unless the item is unavailable within the state. Most of what Amazon sells can be bought locally although it may take a special order. Reporting sales history so that the state can collect back taxes will alienate loyal customers.
I wonder how much of this is driven by the state's (insatiable) hunger for tax receipts and how much is driven by pressure from in state, brick and mortar vendors who are having a hard time competing with a more efficient business model. Will Nebraska require Nebraska-based on line vendors to charge sales tax on shipments to other states? I'll bet not.
Les:
--- Quote from: GreyGeek on December 26, 2016, 11:13:44 AM ---I forgot to mention that NE will be collecting past history from Amazon and other Internet sales outlets and matching up reported internet sales with actual Internet sales. If you haven't been reporting Internet sales taxes expect a letter from the Dept of Revenue sometime in the future. They'll probably offer an amnesty period. After that the penalties for under reporting will be significant. I wrote the code for comparing incomes reported on the fed form with that on NE's form. Several thousand cheaters were found and prosecuted.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Hmmm, doesn't sound legit, retroactive? Do you have a link to that? Court challenge imminent? And would it not require an audit of your taxes? Looks like the state needs to hire more staff. Like a dollar waiting on a dime. Lol
newfalguy101:
--- Quote from: Kendahl on December 26, 2016, 03:36:48 PM ---Depending on how much people have bought on line from vendors who didn't charge sales tax to out-of-state customers, it could be substantial. I know of people who do all their Christmas shopping on line. The gifts are shipped directly to the recipients. All the buyer sees is a line in his next credit card statement.
I don't understand why Amazon, or any other on line vendor, would do this voluntarily. It puts them at a competitive disadvantage compared to their competition. Usually, there is a trade off between sales tax and shipping. If you have to pay both, there is no longer a reason to buy on line unless the item is unavailable within the state. Most of what Amazon sells can be bought locally although it may take a special order. Reporting sales history so that the state can collect back taxes will alienate loyal customers.
I wonder how much of this is driven by the state's (insatiable) hunger for tax receipts and how much is driven by pressure from in state, brick and mortar vendors who are having a hard time competing with a more efficient business model. Will Nebraska require Nebraska-based on line vendors to charge sales tax on shipments to other states? I'll bet not.
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There is already an "online sales tax" however at this point it only affects the top dogs in the online shopping world, such as Amazon, and as such, its not exactly voluntary for Amazon to begin collecting sales tax, and , yes, any Nebraska based company that meets the threshold will be collecting sales tax for stuff shipped out of state.
The other part about sales history sounds somewhat dubious to me........
Kendahl:
--- Quote from: newfalguy101 on December 26, 2016, 06:46:32 PM ---There is already an "online sales tax" however at this point it only affects the top dogs in the online shopping world, such as Amazon, and as such, its not exactly voluntary for Amazon to begin collecting sales tax, and , yes, any Nebraska based company that meets the threshold will be collecting sales tax for stuff shipped out of state.
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That's not what the Small Business Administration web site says about internet sales tax. A mail order company is required to charge sales tax only if it has a physical presence in the same state as the shipping destination. Presence can be a headquarters, office, store front, sales rep or warehouse. A third party seller, which Amazon uses extensively, can also constitute a presence. No presence means that sales tax is between the buyer and his state of residence.
According to another site, federal legislation to require collection and distribution of sales tax has been under consideration for several years. That sounds like the "online sales tax" you mentioned. However, according to the site, nothing has been passed. As you said, it would only apply to mail order businesses with annual sales greater than $1,000,000. That's not a very high threshold in today's world. A small business with a warehouse and half a dozen employees would need that much just to break even.
ebay is another internet giant. However, since they are an auction house rather than a seller, I doubt that federal legislation would affect them. Ditto for GunBroker and Armslist.
According to WOWT, the Nebraska Tax Commissioner stated that Amazon is "exhibiting responsible corporate citizenship." That sounds more like the companies that used to twist employees' arms about donating to United Way than a legal mandate.
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