SCOTUS gives green light for state taxes to be charged on internet purchases

[eelstrebor1]

Nebraska law already requires that we report our internet purchases when filing the state income tax return but few do. Anyway, I found Gov. Ricketts comments about this SCOTUS ruling to be interesting. He said that one of the reasons why property taxes are so high is due to declining sales tax revenue due to people not reporting out-of-state internet purchases and because internet businesses aren't required to withhold state tax unless they have a brick-and-mortar presence in Nebraska. So, with the SCOTUS ruling I'm expecting my property taxes to drop. Realistically, that's not likely to happen. Even if property taxes drop with increased sales tax revenue, that just means that our net gain would be at or near zero. So, it doesn't really matter if we report our internet purchases or whether they collect the taxes through the vendor, we won't be any better off if the property taxes drop. Even renters pay property tax as a hidden amount in their rent payments. Does anyone really expect landlords to drop the amount of rent if property taxes drop? Not likely. Obviously, I'm a pessimist (or realist?). My friends in Wyoming are shocked at how much higher our property taxes are in comparison to property taxes on a similar size structure in Wyoming. I should seriously consider moving since it would be easier to do now that my house mortgage is paid off and I'm retired. Too bad I don't really own my house though. It would be nice if property taxes were waived after the house was paid off and when you're a retiree. I could use that money for medical/dental/eyecare insurance.

[GreyGeek]

I don't expect any politician to lower any kind of tax regardless of any new tax revenues.  Spending it gives them too much power and many use spending taxes on "protected classes" as a way to buy their vote.

IMO, it is a conflict of interest to be a welfare recipient and also have the right to vote on continuing or increasing those benefits.  Folks on welfare rolls should not be allowed to vote until they become self-supporting for the year previous to any election, proven by pay stubs.

[LJUnaTIC]

You can get some or all of your property taxes waived if you are over 65 and your homes assessed value is inline with county averages and your income meets the limits.

Check out the Homestead Exemption


And as far as taxation without representation is concerned I think we fought a war over that a while back and the Supremes have suffered some memory loss

[GreyGeek]

You can get some or all of your property taxes waived if you are over 65 and your homes assessed value is inline with county averages and your income meets the limits.

Check out the Homestead Exemption


And as far as taxation without representation is concerned I think we fought a war over that a while back and the Supremes have suffered some memory loss

Yup.  I wrote and supported that software for nearly 10 years while I was a programmer at the Dept of Revenue, but I retired 10 years ago.   The information to see if you qualify for a homestead exemption is here: http://www.revenue.nebraska.gov/info/96-299.pdf

The home page and general information is here:
http://www.revenue.nebraska.gov/PAD/homestead.html.

[Les]

This state is and will continue to be a quagmire (No Family Guy reference)  for taxes until our vaunted Unicameral decides to quit funding public education off the backs of property owners.  I honestly don't see a reason to retire here.  Northwest Mizzura is way better tax wise, that is if you still have family in "The Good Life State" 

[Waltherfan]

Only the government could screw something up this badly. Instead of businesses having to figure out the tax rate for every city in the U.S., tax it at the rate where you bought it. Example: I order something from Wyoming, I pay Wyoming'sales tax. That's where I bought it. Same as it I'd walked into the store in Wyoming and bought it.  Far too simple.

[eelstrebor1]

Only the government could screw something up this badly. Instead of businesses having to figure out the tax rate for every city in the U.S., tax it at the rate where you bought it. Example: I order something from Wyoming, I pay Wyoming'sales tax. That's where I bought it. Same as it I'd walked into the store in Wyoming and bought it.  Far too simple.

When I did my Nebraska income taxes, my understanding is that you have to report out of state purchases regardless if you bought online or physically bought the item while in another state. Governments sure know how to complicate the taxes.

[Jito463]

When I did my Nebraska income taxes, my understanding is that you have to report out of state purchases regardless if you bought online or physically bought the item while in another state. Governments sure know how to complicate the taxes.

Most states - save for those without sales tax - require people to self report any out of state purchases (i.e. online purchases).  It's basically their way of trying to deal with the issue, since the Supreme Court had previously ruled that online purchases could not be taxed unless the business had a physical presence within the state.

Only the government could screw something up this badly. Instead of businesses having to figure out the tax rate for every city in the U.S., tax it at the rate where you bought it. Example: I order something from Wyoming, I pay Wyoming'sales tax. That's where I bought it. Same as it I'd walked into the store in Wyoming and bought it.  Far too simple.

The issue is that online sales hurt local businesses.  I work for a company that sells computer parts.  We have to work twice as hard to find deals so we can keep our prices (approximately) in-line with internet pricing, or people aren't going to want to shop with us; and the fact that we have to charge sales tax is an additional deterrent to local sales.  The only reason we stay as busy as we do is that no one else provides all the parts that we carry, so we're pretty much the only option if people want to buy locally and/or don't want to wait for shipping.  By making online companies charge the same tax as local businesses (sans the city taxes), it alleviates some of that burden on the local business to compete.