

Online Sales Tax Loophole Closing - dko
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15507730

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rwl
Wouldn't it be nice if, instead of trying to "close the loophole" in the name
of gaining revenue and "protecting" brick-and-mortar businesses, we eliminated
_all_ sales tax instead, and looked for that revenue elsewhere?

Any sales tax is a disincentive to buy things, and in a recession, that kind
of disincentive is the last thing we need. If you want people to spend money
at local businesses, make it easier for them to do that -- not harder to
patronize the alternatives.

I understand that states have to raise money somehow when the budget is tight.
But it seems absolutely perverse to raise it by expanding the sales tax on
consumer goods, particularly when that involves invasive policies like having
retailers submit lists of customers and their purchases to the state. It seems
like the only possible effect of such a policy will be to exacerbate the
budget problem by further dampening demand.

