States Attempting To Tax Internet Sales (Including Tobacco)

[pappymac]

Ahhhh! The Lottery. A method of taxation which the majority of the general public willingly participates in. It's a method of taxation because the money raised is revenue for the states (whether they use it properly or not) and it's a method that actually requires the lower income to pay because I don't know of any rich people who buy lottery tickets but I have seen a lot of food stamp users buy lottery tickets. (Local grocery stores: customer pays for food using food stamps, move to the customer service line and pays cash for lottery tickets. It Happens.)

 

[dochudson]

Cellar deep as it not a question of 'if' the question is 'when'.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The whole issue is similar in a way to automobile insurance. It would simplify things to attach the policy to the driver rather than to the vehicle.

Aren't car insurance policies tied very closely to the driver? And it also depends on whether he's driving a new Rolls or a beat up Ford, so it's a combo.

 

[pappymac]

Most car insurance polices are written primarily for the vehicle (you can't get auto insurance if you don't own a vehicle) and the cost of the policy is often based on the driving record of the people driving it. That's why if you are an adult over 40 with a unsullied driving record but you also have a 16 year old living at home with a drivers license, your policy is going to be hundreds of dollars higher each year/six month period.

 

[ssjones]

With Allstate, that depends on the ratio of cars to drivers. If they have their own vehicle, we paid considerably more (and what young teen doesn't have their own car these days).

 

[brian64]

Aren't car insurance policies tied very closely to the driver? And it also depends on whether he's driving a new Rolls or a beat up Ford, so it's a combo.

Yeah, it's really a combination of the two. I was primarily thinking of the liability portion, which is normally the min required by law. Seems to me that should just be attached to the driver, regardless of what car he's driving. Perhaps it actually does work that way, at least in some cases...I'm not really sure...it's kind of convoluted. It was a bad analogy on my part.
Aside from the fact that they are both unnecessarily complex, there is another parallel between insurance and taxes...one that I think most people are unaware of or just don't think about. The payments taken in do not all just go into a pool and then get paid back out. Some of it is invested. So when a government entity says it's "broke" and needs more tax dollars, it's not really true in that it has real wealth that is not being calculated in as a means of paying for its obligations...and the public, who are the true owners (in theory) of it all, are never informed of the actual extent of the wealth being held by government, or ultimately what is done with it.
Government Debt = Government Investment

http://cafr1.com/GovernmentDebt.html

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

As of a Washingtonian we pay the second most in tobacco taxes behind New York, at least we did as of a few years ago, and because of certain tobacco laws some online retailers won't even ship tobacco to Washington. If they start taxing online sales its really gonna suck for me. At least I can take a short drive to Oregon and get tobacco at a pretty fair price.

 

[skraps]

What a slippery slope. People gripe about the government until they need something from it... police to protect you, the courts to settle disputes, etc. People gripe about taxes, until they want to benefit from it... money to pay for roads, medicare, etc.
Unfortunately, unless you are living off the grid, basic services from the government are necessary and those services are typically funded by tax dollars. I'm not saying that they don't collect more than their fair share and then some, but the fact is, SOME level of government and taxation is necessary.

 

[ssjones]

I think it is time to close this one, before we slip over the line.

Forum rule - no politics, taxes = politicians, a combination that never works out here.