Every couple a years the moratorium on sales tax for internet sales is up for debate and eventually kept in place to satisfy the business lobbyist. I admit I take advantage of this for all my large ticket items to avoid the sales tax which saves me a few hundred dollars each year.

Unfortunately, I do not believe this is fair to the different types of businesses, namely brick and mortar establishments. There have been discussions on how difficult it would be to implement the taxes since all the people buying are from so many different areas and those areas all have different tax rates. It also is felt that it would hinder the growth of the internet.

First, lets simply talk about fairness. Why should a business have to charge sales tax simply because it is based in a building? They are already charged property taxes on that space and currently they are paying sales tax because of that space. Plus they already have more overhead costs associated with that building. It simply is not fair to have the government(s) give some businesses an advantage over another that is selling the exact same items, and yes I know life isn't fair, but why shouldn't we make at least as fair as possible for all. The government represents the people and what is best for all, right?

Looking at the long term from this point of view, the government is telling businesses - "We don't want to have stores anymore!" (Yes, this is a far fetched idea right now, but a logical progression of the thought as it would continue. By directing people to buy through the internet due to incentives, more and more people will. This will lead to a decline in profitability for stores, then new businesses will simply start as cyber stores. Eventually no more store fronts.) This is not good. Take this concept to an extreme and it leads to a society that is too separated. Going to stores offers healthy people interaction which I believe to be necessary to proper, caring life.

In regards to the growth of the internet and the business economy as a whole, I have not bought more things because of the internet. I simply purchased them elsewhere because it was either lower costs or to avoid sales tax. Also more variety and pre-purchase information is offered. By adding sales tax to the costs of products on the internet, people are not simply going to stop using it. The internet is beyond the fledgling stage now and people use it for cost comparisons, variety, and convenience.

The next step is to implement a sales tax, how do we deal with all the different rates from where each customers is from? We don't! Base the sales tax rate on where the business is located, not the customer. Keep it the same for everyone - If I walk into a store in Colorado where the sales tax is approximately 6% and show my Texas driver's license - they are not going to charge me 8.25% because that is where I live. Why should the internet (or catalog) sales be different? No reason for it. Having one system for physical stores and a different system for non-contact sales (internet/catalog). Actually three systems (Catalogs charge sales tax based on where the business is located if you live in the same state as where they have a physical presence) - Does not make practical sense.

Simply put - Have all businesses follow the same sales tax guidelines regardless of whether they sell out of a warehouse or store front and have them charge based on the tax rate for the area the business is located.