“Online shopping will soon become more expensive after the U.S. Supreme court ruled Thursday that states can require internet retailers to collect sales taxes,” Pete Williams reports for NBC News. “The 5-4 decision broke with 50 years’ worth of legal rulings that barred states from imposing sales taxes on most purchases their residents make from out-of-state retailers.”
“The decision was a victory for South Dakota, which had asked the court to uphold its recently passed law imposing an internet sales tax,” Williams reports. “‘The Supreme Court applied bacon grease to the slippery slope of states taxing and regulating outside their borders,’ said Andrew Moylan, executive vice president of the conservative National Taxpayers Union Foundation and head of its Interstate Commerce Initiative. ‘By validating South Dakota’s law, the Court has granted states the power to tax any business anywhere in the country simply for daring to use the internet to access a nationwide market,’ he added. ‘Congress must now act to contain the fallout of this case.'”
“Chief Justice John Roberts, in the dissenting opinion, said the internet economy has thrived under the sales tax exemptions,” Williams reports. “‘Any alternation to those rules with the potential to disrupt the development of such a critical segment of the economy should be undertaken by Congress,’ he wrote.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The majority consisted of Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Samuel A. Alito Jr., and Neil M. Gorsuch. There’s a mix. Here’s another one: The minority consisted of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
The ball’s in your court, Congress!
Great. How long until cities start complaining.
Seems equitable by leveling the playing field.
It would apply to residents of each state, who ostensibly are the beneficiaries of the services the sales taxes support.
fully agree. And the write-up is misleading. The issue of paying sales tax was always on the books. The question was one of collection. Congress passed a law that enable online sellers to not collect a sales tax; the buyers though still had to pay it. Since most on-line shoppers do not “pay” the sales tax that they are supposed to be law, this ruling just means that online sellers will now need collect and submit sales tax.
tax wars part deux????
It is just the same protectionistic logic as the one which induces your dear president to bring to a harsh end long-standing free trade agreements with friend and foe alike as a sacrifice to pathological and highly damaging and dangerous ‘me first’-hybris.
It’s just shameful. After all the recent upsetting news I wouldn’t even be surprised if he decided to switch off the internet completely too one of these days – by his favorite means of one more undemocratic executive order.
Guido Hick, Belgium, EU
While I do not agree with the President’s attacks on our close allies, or, in general, with protectionism and the shape and direction of the President’s policies, I do think the sales tax issue does not fall under protectionism. Speaking to people in Canada, the requirement of merchants to collect sales taxes for items shipped to other provinces was put in place many years ago. Before that I know that local businesses lost a lot of sales to out-of-province suppliers because of what was essentially a large discount formed by not collecting provincial taxes. Canada’s sales taxes are quite high – now many provinces have a rate (combined federal and provincial tax, or HST) of 15%. I am not sure how much it was back then, but assuming they online or catalog supplier had to collect federal tax, their final price was likely 7 or 8% cheaper due to no provincial tax. If someone was buying more expensive items (technology or machinery, for example), this could be substantial. It was an unfair, unlevel playing field for smaller, local businesses against the large suppliers in other provinces.
So apparently we are tax serfs, bound to the city we call home.
Is that not from where we derive benefit?
I am all for paying taxes where appropriate, but no state, county or city has a right to tax interstate commerce. This is just a tax grab by wasteful and inefficient governments.
That’s a big 10-4! …
Stop pretending to be a conservative, GoeBum. You don’t fool anyone.
As has been clarified by TxUser and Runcat, we always had the obligation to pay sales tax in the state of use.
As far as interstate taxation goes…. if it’s produced in one state, but sold in a store in another, isn’t that interstate taxation?
This will probably forced online retailers to offer some sort of free shipping. Not talking about 14 day delivery free, but more like amazon does with Prime. Otherwise, why pay for tax and shipping?
Wow, what a can of worms for small business upsetting a 50-year precedent …
“The 5-4 decision broke with 50 years’ worth of legal rulings that barred states from imposing sales taxes on most purchases their residents make from out-of-state retailers.”
Wrong. The purchaser always had to pay a sales (or use) tax; most didn’t. The 50 year precedent, which was originally put into place for catalog sales, was put into place by Congress to include internet-based sales as well, with caveats about having a “presence” in the state. This change just means that internet sellers will have to collect that sales tax rather than relying on the honesty of purchasers to pay it. For companies, such as Best Buy and Barnes&Noble, this will have no affect since they already had to collect and pay those taxes for online sales. This will dramatically affect Amazon and other companies that do not generally collect sales tax.
Does this mean I now have to pay sales tax when I buy from B&H in NY when I’m in Kaleefornyah?
No.
Festarius,
You don’t owe any NY taxes. That hasn’t changed. Sales tax, as opposed to value added tax, is imposed on the buyer, not the seller. That’s why the posted price of an item includes VAT but not sales tax. The taxes are intended to offset the cost of providing government services to the taxpayer (not the merchant).
You were always supposed to pay California sales tax, but nobody ever did unless the merchant collected it. Under prior precedent, the merchant could only be required to collect the tax if the merchant had a physical presence in the buyer’s state. This ruling says that a state may now require an online merchant to collect it in all cases. So B&H in New York can be forced to collect the relevant state and local taxes from a California buyer and transmit them to the appropriate authority. I don’t know if California law requires that, but it likely does.
I think that the sales tax is imposed on the merchant to pay it. Just because the merchant adds sales tax on a product does not mean that the buyer is compelled by law to pay it. The compunction comes into play when the merchant says, “No pay tax, no get goods.”
You may think it, but that does not make it true. Sales taxes are, by definition, imposed on the buyer, who is compelled by law to pay it. The merchant is only compelled to collect the tax, and cannot legally sell the product without doing so.
States legally require businesses, not the customer, to pay the sales taxes to the state. If the sale is between private parties, on the other hand, the buyer is legally compelled to pay a tax.
States differ. In Texas, the burden is always on the buyer. In California, the sales tax for in-state transactions is paid by the seller, while the equivalent use tax on cross-state transactions are on the buyer (but collected by the seller). There are 48 other states with their own patterns. Federalism at work.
This could backfire for brick and mortar though; now there won’t be a guilt hesitation for some people to order online vs shopping locally since taxes will get collected either way.
Thanks to the Supreme Kunts on the Supreme Court for phucking up everyone’s life.
Well, this is a first for me. First time someone else FALSELY used my screen name to post a false vulgar potty mouth post and attempt to attribute it to me. MDN, any way to ban the village idiot POS Citizen X once and for all? …
False! This false GoeB is pretending to be me! There are pretenders here pretending and it is all getting very pretentious, like my fake follower, GoeB, who is going and being a naughty B-word!
MDN please do something about this fake fakery of fake ness.
I can’t have a fake me going around making me look like a fool, some would falsely say I do that myself enough already, I don’t need any help!
“False! This false GoeB is pretending to be me!
Right back at you POS BANNED CITIZEN X!!!
“I can’t have a fake me going around making me look like a fool, some would falsely say I do that myself enough already, I don’t need any help!”
Let’s drill down in your fake and totally DISHONEST post that does not bother you one atomic particle: “some would falsely say I do that myself enough already.”
Nuff said …
How DARE you accuse me of fakery when YOU are the fake, who fakes a fake opinion every damn day!
You are the CITIZEN ZEE, lower than an F, F for FAKE.
Go away, fake GoeB, stop pretending to be me! Honestly haven’t you got ANYTHING better to do with your time that come here to MDN and pretend to be me?
It’s pathetic. GoeBack to your hole and grow up.
How DARE YOU IMPERSONATE ME!!!! You are pathetic pos LIAR BANNED CITIZEN X. I’m not surprised you stooped this low because for you their is no low, no honor, no decency. Your HATE for me, Botty and other conservative points of view is DESPICABLE and CHILDISH. You were BANNED several times before and I PRAY MDN catches up with you AGAIN. I always post from the same device unlike you hopping from computer to computer to register fake down votes. I remember Botty famously calling you out before you were banned. Now, STFU MDN FRAUD !!!
What a doofus you are fake GoeB
GoeBegone, you are a fake faker or fakosity and it is appalling to see you splutter and blubber.
How DARE you accuse me of fakery when YOU are the fake”
Wow!
You are going to bed tonight as the FAKE GoeB. And you feel GOOD about yourself for being a TOTAL LYING FRAUD!!!
You are are a LIAR BANNED CITIZEN X!
You are DISHONEST BANNED CITIZEN X!
You have ZERO MORALS BANNED CITIZEN X!
You are a potty mouth, dried turd obsessed POS BANNED CITIZEN X!
You FALSELY posting under MY SCREEN NAME is a new low for you.
But that’s exactly what I expected from you because you have NO MORALS …
I am not Citizen X but you are very easy to troll GoeB.
I sleep fine at night, buddy. I doubt you do.
HOW DARE YOU CONTINUE TO IMPERSONATE ME!!!
You are a fake, fraud, liar and have ZERO credibility.
You sleep well at night??? Yeah, every murderer and felon does the same …
Get a life GoeBro
You’ll pop an artery at this rate
Please stop being a loser
You are the word that needs to GET A LIFE DISHONEST CITIZEN X!!! Making up new screen names as you go along to avoid detection. TYPICAL CRIMINAL MIND. Now STFU and STOP STALKING ME!!! …
Shut up Goebbels. Stop answering! You are so easy to troll! It is unbelievable! You are such an idiot!
Stop answering, stop being a d!ck, stop being a Goebbels.
Gee what a surprise the DISHONEST FELON can’t let it GO. YOU STFU!!! …