Sales Tax Law Still Pending

About a month ago I started reading about the Internet Sales tax sometimes referred to as the Amazon Internet Sales Tax. One of the proposed benefits of this proposed tax is to help with the state budget shortages. Senator Durbin's bill known as the Main Street Fairness Act, covers New York, Illinois and Connecticut. New York is looking to add the nearly 4% and Illinois 6.25% sales tax to all online purchases.

Durbin is looking for the second time charm to get this voted on as the first version didn't make it last year. I wonder if this has been fully thought out on the crafters of the bill. Nearly every week you hear about the economy and it needs to be stimulated.  It may also cause businesses to move out of the very states that the tax is meant to help. Chicago Tonight on WTTW recently did an interview with one such company who is looking to move out of state to avoid this tax. You can watch the video on FatWallet.com and their move to Wisconsin.

While there is great concern about Amazon, one thing that I think may be missed is that shopping on Amazon is not just about the lack of sales tax but the diversity of products and customer service, that coupled with the convenience of shopping from your home.  What concerns me more is that increasing gas prices and its impact on merchandise due to increased cost of transportation.

Motley Fool article Will Sales Taxes Tax Amazon, Cindy Johnson, April 13, 2011

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