Amazon Pulling Out of Texas Over Sales Tax

[rudy]

Thanks to places like the Egg and Steam, I haven't paid a cent of tax on expensive hardware or software in a long time. As I live in NY, I have recently stopped most purchases from Amazon because they began collecting sales tax. We get taxed enough here, so I like sticking it to NY state in any way I can. Screw 'em!

Did it ever occur to you that if you just paid your taxes instead of trying as hard as you can to get around them that your tax rates might be lowered? There is sort of an upper end to what people will deal with with sales tax around 10% you start going north of that and it just cannot be sustained. So all places do is cram in new taxes to deal with what is needed. If states could charge sales tax on everything they might be able to reduce or get rid of other taxes.

Some people here are to blinded by emotion to see reality. Does government have waste? Yes they do but it is really your fault for voting in the politicians that allow it. However is that waste at a level of 50% absolutely not, not even close. Most of the problems with government in the US are not from corruption and blatent waste they are from innefficiency that is mostly caused by US consumers and voters whom are too stupid to realize that one way or another the services must be paid for. They just think that if I push the buck off on someone else it is not my problem.

Realistically there should only be 1 tax in the US it should either be a sales tax or an income tax that is it. At the end of the day we the individuals must pay for the government to serve us. But due to our selfishness and short sighted stupidity we try to push that tax off on to other people because we stupidly think that it does not trickle down to us. Or we just feel more warm and fuzzy inside if a politician says I will tax the rich, or wall street or someone else. But when we do that all we do is bloat the hell out of government now government must hire many times as many people to manage hundreds of different forms of taxes and enforce them. They must constantly waste money trying to reorganize as politicians constantly change things to appease the ignorant masses who somehow think that the next change in tax law or code is going to be better for them and worse for people they do not care about. All I can say is that it is retarded. And most of the comments in this thread are retarded too.

If you think that government waste money than vote people in who will fix it. Go directly attack the source of waste do not try to make more idiotic rules to reduce your direct tax burden all you do in the end is cost yourself more money.

 

[Tknojnky]

You'll take my Amazon Prime membership from my cold, dead hands.

Me F'in too! I live in Cali-ban and get as much tax free as I can. If the government didn't piss it away so fast, I might be inclined to change that... But no... Fuck'em

 

[kubla_khan]

Did it ever occur to you that if you just paid your taxes instead of trying as hard as you can to get around them that your tax rates might be lowered? There is sort of an upper end to what people will deal with with sales tax around 10% you start going north of that and it just cannot be sustained. So all places do is cram in new taxes to deal with what is needed. If states could charge sales tax on everything they might be able to reduce or get rid of other taxes.
Some people here are to blinded by emotion to see reality. Does government have waste? Yes they do but it is really your fault for voting in the politicians that allow it. However is that waste at a level of 50% absolutely not, not even close. Most of the problems with government in the US are not from corruption and blatent waste they are from innefficiency that is mostly caused by US consumers and voters whom are too stupid to realize that one way or another the services must be paid for. They just think that if I push the buck off on someone else it is not my problem.
Realistically there should only be 1 tax in the US it should either be a sales tax or an income tax that is it. At the end of the day we the individuals must pay for the government to serve us. But due to our selfishness and short sighted stupidity we try to push that tax off on to other people because we stupidly think that it does not trickle down to us. Or we just feel more warm and fuzzy inside if a politician says I will tax the rich, or wall street or someone else. But when we do that all we do is bloat the hell out of government now government must hire many times as many people to manage hundreds of different forms of taxes and enforce them. They must constantly waste money trying to reorganize as politicians constantly change things to appease the ignorant masses who somehow think that the next change in tax law or code is going to be better for them and worse for people they do not care about. All I can say is that it is retarded. And most of the comments in this thread are retarded too.
If you think that government waste money than vote people in who will fix it. Go directly attack the source of waste do not try to make more idiotic rules to reduce your direct tax burden all you do in the end is cost yourself more money.

Referencing people as a group, I see your point. But from the perspective of an individual, it looks quite different. Not many people care about the future effects of pushing as many taxes off themselves TODAY when the reality is that we gotta eat to get there. It's easy to say "vote 'em out" and don't be myopic, but that hasn't worked so far and can't possibly effect the total ass-raeping we'll get in April, or that smooth anal lube-up that happens every time money changes hands, or the surprise buttsecks that occurs even when it doesn't, or the massive bloody hemorrhage of waste that occurs perpetually. It's nice to have ideals but most can't afford them right now.
But hey! There's no tax for being retarded. Not yet, anyway.

 

[SixFootDuo]

Why do people insist on all this moral compass bs? Right and wrong blah blah. You guys are getting phucked over hard from every side, from your local government to federal to the law makers around you. Sure a lot of people do a lot of good but there are also a lot of corrupt bastards out there more so than good. Trust me, you're missing money out of your wallet right now and you will never figure out who is taking it. That's how the system is designed. Show a little backbone. What's right is right. Use common sense. If you really want to open your eyes, simple, go Google tax corruption, Texas corruption etc etc, It's NOT a pretty picture.

LIVA LA TAXAS!!!!!!!

 

[thax]

Me F'in too! I live in Cali-ban and get as much tax free as I can. If the government didn't piss it away so fast, I might be inclined to change that... But no... Fuck'em

aye fuck taxes the gov wastes so much dam money its insane. Down hear in new orleans the state spent $1 billion on blocking a 1 mile wide river whit rocks 1 bill fucking $, they are also building new flood walls and they are going to cost billions that wont protect much of the city.

 

[rudy]

I am not asking for a moral compass I am asking for people to ask for the laws to be changed such that they benifit us all. I buy from the cheapest place too most people will. But I would rather that I not be pushed to do that by bad government policy caused by ignorant voters.

Your arguments do not make any sense sixfootduo. There is corruption in the government but it is not the majority of the cost. If you fix every bit of corruption you are not going to suddenly see a 20% drop in your taxes. It cost a ton of money to do all the shit we do in America.

But lets just say for arguments sake you are right. Allowing some companies and people to loophole around taxes will only make things worse not better. It will not change the fact that one way or another right or wrong, corrupt or clean the government WILL get their money. But the way they do get their money will effect your economy and the total price you pay for goods. So you have to get over your blind rage about taxes and accept the fact that they get paid no matter what and that the way taxes are collected will have a positive or negative impact on you. Right now the sales tax issues are negative, they force you to wait longer on average to recieve a product, they limit your choices and encourage you to make bad decisions to purchase products further away costing you more, and doing more damage to the environment. All that so you can foolishly think you are sticking it to the man. But you arent you are only sticking it to yourself. You pay one way or another.

 

[nxcess]

Houston has red light cameras installed and the voters recently voted to shut them off. I personally voted to keep them and now the city is facing budget shortfalls and those cameras helped prevent that. My wife recieved a ticket from a red light camera and I paid it while she was bitching about it.

Seriously? Red light cameras are there for one thing and one thing only. Generate money for the city. To help the city catch people running red lights, they sped up the yellow light. This causes people to slam on their brakes. There are dumb driver in Houston, but it doesn't make things better when the city screws with the lights.

Don't break the law and you don't have a problem, plain and simple.

They'll find another way to nickel and dime you for everything you got e.g. raise property value during a fucking recession.

Taxes build those roads and they wear out and have to be replaced. So what the hell are you going to do about that? Take a bus? Forget about it!

You do realize they build those roads from the lowest bidder. There's a problem with the concrete mixed they used in the Houston area. Guess what. It's gonna cost more money to fix it than they spent on the road. Guess who's gonna pay for it. If the city doesn't have money for it, they'll find a way to raise tax or slip in a tax somewhere e.g. the mayor wanted a blank check to fix Houston's flooding problem via a tax. You should know what happen'd to that. The voters shot it down quick because they're already paying a tax to have the flood'n problem fix and it's still not fixed.

 

[polemos4u]

Texas didn't think they would pull out so they got creative with the numbers.
Amazon let them know to go get bent.

Wake up people you are paying an insane amount for government and NOT only though direct taxation. Fees, phone, fuel, shipping, tariffs plus all the huge price hikes on everything you buy since the companies have to pay taxes coming and going.

oh and for all the Econ jargon in the prior pages - Every government job created does it at the expense of the tax paying public. They do a piss poor job spending your money.. Yes it is YOUR money, it is YOUR property oh and it's what makes stealing and injustice.

 

[BBA]

Here's a great idea. Why don't states stop pissing off money like it falls freely from the sky. Then they don't have to come up with more taxes, hand out photo radar tickets, or tax us driving on roads or visiting parks that belong to us in the first fucking place. This shit is only going to get worse unless YOU as a voter do something about it. Anti incumbent all the way.

Agree 100%

Like taxes are a god given right to steal from citizens (NOT)

 

[BBA]

Sales tax is a part of life and is probably the most fair tax that we have in this country.

How can you say that? You are taxed on the money you make then taxed again when you spend it, what the hell is fair about that?

 

[BBA]

Actually, my above comment is a little rash, I understand Texas does not have income tax but geez...when is enough enough!

 

[BBA]

Did it ever occur to you that if you just paid your taxes instead of trying as hard as you can to get around them that your tax rates might be lowered?

Your argument has no merit simply because the politicians see taxes as free money for them. They do not see taxes as a burden on citizens, which it is in reality. This country is not for the people in their eyes, it's more about taking from the people.

 

[precariousgray]

Personally, I've always been pretty happy about being taxed on payday, and then again on buy-something-with-that-same-money-I've-already-been-taxed-on day.

 

[mmarsh]

Some of you people don't get it.

This is exactly the reason why the government goes into deficit and keeps raising OUR taxes to pay it down. We have an inequitable tax system where the very rich and corporate America do everything they can NOT to pay their fair share. Exploiting loopholes, moving money offshore, using hidden accounts, they hire $800 an hour lawyers who use 1001 legal tricks to shirk their clients from paying tax.

Amazon is a giant corporation, they make a lot of money in Texas, they have to pay the tax. If Mom and Pop small business in Dallas has got to pay sales taxes then there should be no exceptions for Mega-Corporations like Amazon.

So by defending Amazon (whom by the way I am a big customer) you are defending those who are cheating the system.

 

[stiltner]

Some of you people don't get it
......
So by defending Amazon (whom by the way I am a big customer) you are defending those who are cheating the system.

What proof do you have that Amazon owes the state of Texas anything? Just because Texas walked up with a bill, and said "Pay This" means they owe it? Based on what? Calculated by whom? With what motives from where?

I'm not defending Amazon, so much as I'm opposing government on this issue. There's a thread in Soapbox I think it was also where we're discussing this.

 

[Hulahoops]

Dunno why but I'm always slighty surprised with the reaction from Americans when the word tax appears, I feel that at times it seems to make many of them irrational.

PS Might be because I come from UK

 

[Elios]

well always Delaware still sales and income tax free!

 

[TechPirate]

Or Amazon is trying not to force Texas residents to pay sales tax , which can make quite a difference and in a bid to keep Texas residents happy have decided to pull out of the state entirely thus keeping it sales tax free for customers.

Texas government on the other hand looks like a greedy asshole that is willing to risk hundreds of jobs and a local economy for where its warehouse is built.

Texas is being a giant asshole.

You're having a difficult time keeping up on this one, aren't you...

 

[TechPirate]

What proof do you have that Amazon owes the state of Texas anything? Just because Texas walked up with a bill, and said "Pay This" means they owe it? Based on what? Calculated by whom? With what motives from where?

I'm not defending Amazon, so much as I'm opposing government on this issue. There's a thread in Soapbox I think it was also where we're discussing this.

By virtue of the fact that they have a presence there and are physically doing business in Texas.

 

[TechPirate]

Some of you people don't get it.

This is exactly the reason why the government goes into deficit and keeps raising OUR taxes to pay it down. We have an inequitable tax system where the very rich and corporate America do everything they can NOT to pay their fair share. Exploiting loopholes, moving money offshore, using hidden accounts, they hire $800 an hour lawyers who use 1001 legal tricks to shirk their clients from paying tax.

Amazon is a giant corporation, they make a lot of money in Texas, they have to pay the tax. If Mom and Pop small business in Dallas has got to pay sales taxes then there should be no exceptions for Mega-Corporations like Amazon.

So by defending Amazon (whom by the way I am a big customer) you are defending those who are cheating the system.

It's not about money or size. If I sell something outside of my state where I operate, I don't have to pay tax as I don't have a presence outside of my state.

If I sell something inside my state, I have to collect state sales tax and pay it to my state quarterly.

If I were to open up a location in another state, I would have to collect tax inside that state to pay to that state as well.

This is a very simple concept for anyone who's run an e-commerce business before.

 

[Zoomer]

I think the affiliates in question here are the people who have amazon banner ads on their blogs and whatnot. Some of these people are located in Texas. Same as NY for newegg.

Does this really constitute having a presence in the state?

 

[erexx]

Texas and any other State that enforces Internet taxes can go get bent.
The People are over taxed as it is.
The Government needs to learn how to Budget itself just like every other American it collects money from.
It cannot simply raise taxes every time a financial crisis blows up the budget.
Its called planning for the future and living in the present.
Want to fix it? Then "rainy day" funds should be mandatory because they are always needed.
Then again 10 years of war on two fronts is pretty darn expensive, dont expect to do that without paying for it and doing without as a result.
Go Amazon, do not support their totalitarian büll§hit.

 

[canmanone]

I'm guessing you're a young driver?

If these guys get hit, it's the fool behind them who is at fault for following too closely/being distracted. Sure it sucks getting brake checked but still avoidable.

It is UNACCEPTABLE and dangerous to run a red light. There is no safe way to "just go through the light" and if I had my way I'd call the cops and report the offender.

no im not young at all 40 in fact. so youve never ran a yellow or red light before? really you would call the cops if someone ran a red light and see hmm that would be an awful lot of calling to the cops which they will get tired of you calling them. they have better things to do than speed to a red light runner to catch up.

 

[[H]ocusPocus]

Hey Amazon, come to NH. No sales tax here - land and labor are both available.

 

[canmanone]

well always Delaware still sales and income tax free!

how are you taxed there in Delaware?

 

[bacon]

Obviously this isn't gonna hurt Amazon, but rather the small business' or affiliates because they are loosing business when Amazon just pulls the plug.

Great way to kill even more jobs, seeing as they are so plentiful right now.

 

[Disco_Stu_04]

no im not young at all 40 in fact. so youve never ran a yellow or red light before? really you would call the cops if someone ran a red light and see hmm that would be an awful lot of calling to the cops which they will get tired of you calling them. they have better things to do than speed to a red light runner to catch up.

Not saying it doesn't happen but always in retrospect it could have been prevented.

It's not convenient for anyone to have to call the cops for such a common occurance, which is why cameras are a good. Also they should be set up fairly, I've see locations where they shortened the yellow.

I'd rather the state collect from people breaking the law than just taxing the sh!t out of everybody equally.

 

[xxEIEIOxx]

I've seen the tax percentage rate pretty much double in most states in my lifetime. With inflation if the rates stayed constant they would get the same increases we as workers get. But instead they have decided to pay themselves double. They really need to correct their spending habits before reaching further into everyone else's pockets.

 

[PoopsMacClaude]

Hey, people defending all this taxation and claiming that we should "man up" and pay all these taxes, consider this:

There are 360 million people in this country. Say that we all had an annual income of $10,000 USD and we were taxed a very conservative 10% for our yearly federal income tax. That's $360,000,000,000. 360 billion dollars.

Obviously this statement is ridiculous. Imagine the real levels of revenue generated from the Federal Income Tax. Now add in your payroll taxes: social security, medicare. But wait, you've still got the state level shit left. If you own property of any kind, guess what, you get taxed on that. Of which all the states regularly have your land "appraised" at ever appreciating rates so they can increase the taxes on it. Then you have state sales tax AND an income tax as well all these other ways of taxing the populace: Alcoholic beverages, Insurance premiums, Motor fuels, Tobacco products, Public utilities, Alcoholic beverage licenses, Corporation taxes, Registering your car, boat, motorcyle, etc., tags, licenses for all the various regulated things, severance tax, taxes on lottery winnings or any kind of large lump sum winnings, etc. The list goes on. It's almost never-ending. It doesn't even stop when you die. Upon death, YOU ARE TAXED!!!!!

How much are you really getting taxed? What are you getting for it? Roads? The entire construction cost of the Federal Interstate System was around 129 billion. That's the construction for the ENTIRE SYSTEM.

Where do you think the money is going? The level of waste and corruption is incredible. This country could be run on a MINUTE FRACTION OF THE TAX REVENUE THAT IS "GENERATED." Wake up.

 

[TechPirate]

Texas and any other State that enforces Internet taxes can go get bent.
The People are over taxed as it is.
The Government needs to learn how to Budget itself just like every other American it collects money from.
It cannot simply raise taxes every time a financial crisis blows up the budget.
Its called planning for the future and living in the present.
Want to fix it? Then "rainy day" funds should be mandatory because they are always needed.
Then again 10 years of war on two fronts is pretty darn expensive, dont expect to do that without paying for it and doing without as a result.
Go Amazon, do not support their totalitarian büll§hit.

It's not an internet tax. I think there should be a tax on people who don't read the fuckin' article.

Amazon has a presence in Texas. With employees. It's required to collect sales tax by that virtue. They refuse.

Anywhere you buy from over the internet that has a presence in a state will be required to collect sales tax for the state they are operating in.

Newegg collects taxes in California, Tennessee, and New Jersey.

How hard is this concept for some of you people to understand?

 

[TechPirate]

Hey, people defending all this taxation and claiming that we should "man up" and pay all these taxes, consider this:

There are 360 million people in this country. Say that we all had an annual income of $10,000 USD and we were taxed a very conservative 10% for our yearly federal income tax. That's $360,000,000,000. 360 billion dollars.

Obviously this statement is ridiculous. Imagine the real levels of revenue generated from the Federal Income Tax. Now add in your payroll taxes: social security, medicare. But wait, you've still got the state level shit left. If you own property of any kind, guess what, you get taxed on that. Of which all the states regularly have your land "appraised" at ever appreciating rates so they can increase the taxes on it. Then you have state sales tax AND an income tax as well all these other ways of taxing the populace: Alcoholic beverages, Insurance premiums, Motor fuels, Tobacco products, Public utilities, Alcoholic beverage licenses, Corporation taxes, Registering your car, boat, motorcyle, etc., tags, licenses for all the various regulated things, severance tax, taxes on lottery winnings or any kind of large lump sum winnings, etc. The list goes on. It's almost never-ending. It doesn't even stop when you die. Upon death, YOU ARE TAXED!!!!!

How much are you really getting taxed? What are you getting for it? Roads? The entire construction cost of the Federal Interstate System was around 129 billion. That's the construction for the ENTIRE SYSTEM.

Where do you think the money is going? The level of waste and corruption is incredible. This country could be run on a MINUTE FRACTION OF THE TAX REVENUE THAT IS "GENERATED." Wake up.

We spent $413 billion last year paying interest on the national debt alone. You are oversimplifying.

 

[Ualdayan]

Dunno why but I'm always slighty surprised with the reaction from Americans when the word tax appears, I feel that at times it seems to make many of them irrational.

PS Might be because I come from UK

Well, our country exists because we were so angry about the taxes Britain was imposing on us we were willing to fight and die to be free from them. What kind of reaction do you think we should have to taxes?

 

[polemos4u]

Well, our country exists because we were so angry about the taxes Britain was imposing on us we were willing to fight and die to be free from them. What kind of reaction do you think we should have to taxes?

^^^!! Kickass point

The horseshit debate over "rendering to ceasar" and "the government provides _______" so they are entitiled isn't the point. We the People are overtaxed. We the people are not the Uk. We the people are not Sweden. We the People are governed by the principles of liberty, private property, rights that shall not be infringed on, ect = USA

Taxes take YOUR property (money) and make it no longer YOURS.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Wait a minute, I would actually research the whole state tax issue as it is defined by federal law.

This has been an ongoing issue for decades. The federal government clearly says that taxes can NOT be collected by a state if a sale takes place outside its borders.

Yes, and said company people buy from was INSIDE their borders, so they are supposed to collect sales tax

It doesn't matter if the goods you buy ship from some other state, you're buying from a company who has a presence in your state, you need to pay up on sales taxes period.

Reduce the size of your bloated government by electing people willing to do it.

Seriously STFU with the "bloated government" arguments.

Did you not hear what he said... they refuse to have a state income tax, so they get most all their revenue via sales taxes. You can't cut total spending to zero. You can have the most efficient working government in the world, it still needs money to operate. Well I guess you could have state run services like electricity and gas and raise revenue that way but people tend to object to that as well... you could go apeshit with tickets to raise revenue, but how much rioting would you have if you got a speeding ticket for $20000, or why not just raise property taxes through the roof to pay for things? In your little dream world I know you'd like to have the state collecting zero money from you, but reality wins out in that little scenario.

That said I hope Texas goes after Amazon, they own the state $270 million in uncollected taxes that Texas residence should have paid with purchases, every other company in the state has to collect taxes sales and does. Amazon gets a free pass? Fuck them. They're not being asked to collecting sales tax for out of state purchases, and it's not like they're asking an out-of-state company to collect taxes from their residents either... man up and pay .

 

[TechPirate]

Yes, and said company people buy from was INSIDE their borders, so they are supposed to collect sales tax

It doesn't matter if the goods you buy ship from some other state, you're buying from a company who has a presence in your state, you need to pay up on sales taxes period.



Seriously STFU with the "bloated government" arguments.

Did you not hear what he said... they refuse to have a state income tax, so they get most all their revenue via sales taxes. You can't cut total spending to zero. You can have the most efficient working government in the world, it still needs money to operate. Well I guess you could have state run services like electricity and gas and raise revenue that way but people tend to object to that as well... you could go apeshit with tickets to raise revenue, but how much rioting would you have if you got a speeding ticket for $20000, or why not just raise property taxes through the roof to pay for things? In your little dream world I know you'd like to have the state collecting zero money from you, but reality wins out in that little scenario.

That said I hope Texas goes after Amazon, they own the state $270 million in uncollected taxes that Texas residence should have paid with purchases, every other company in the state has to collect taxes sales and does. Amazon gets a free pass? Fuck them. They're not being asked to collecting sales tax for out of state purchases, and it's not like they're asking an out-of-state company to collect taxes from their residents either... man up and pay .

Thank God, I was tired of being the only one in here trying to explain this.

 

[rudy]

Well, our country exists because we were so angry about the taxes Britain was imposing on us we were willing to fight and die to be free from them. What kind of reaction do you think we should have to taxes?

There is a big difference back then the colonial powers were giving almost no services to the people they taxed. Our government gives us a ton of services maybe you do not agree with them but over all the average American voter has decided they want these services and is willing to pay for them.

 

[BDV]

There is a big difference back then the colonial powers were giving almost no services to the people they taxed. Our government gives us a ton of services maybe you do not agree with them but over all the average American voter has decided they want these services and is willing to pay for them.

I'm not getting any services, yet I am taxed to hell and back... Why do I have to subsidy others?

 

[bostesseger69]

If you have a business in said state, and you sell to residents in said state, you must pay sales tax. Get over it amazon. Also, I live in Texas. I don't see the problem here, do they expect to be running a business in a state and the state not get a part of that? That's bullshit.

 

[Hulahoops]

Well, our country exists because we were so angry about the taxes Britain was imposing on us we were willing to fight and die to be free from them. What kind of reaction do you think we should have to taxes?

Perhaps but this is also a very simplistic way of looking at what was without doubt a complex issue, which of course happened many generations ago.

In the UK no one is exactly loves taxes but most have accepted that this year and for the next few we will be taxed even more and get less services for that money on both local and country level but it must be done to fill the debt hole that has appeared.

 

[distortion69]

that is a question right wingers can't understand. they think tax cuts don't need to be offset and that all taxes are too high. guess texas can raise property taxes more.

Right.. because all right wingers all think the same.

All black people are thieves as well.

Oh, and every Muslim in your community wants to bomb you.

Are there any other generalizations you would like to make about an entire group of people?

Many right wingers want to cut spending first, then think about tax reductions second..

It depends on who you talk to.