Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:12:26 -0500
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>,
        WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Shopping online?
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

At 12/21/2005 12:02 PM, samlubell at verizon.net wrote:
> >From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
> >I suspect they are going to have problems in court over that one.  The
> >Constitution very clearly states that the Federal Government has the power
> >to regulate interstate commerce, not the states.  They can tax those
> >entities operating in their own borders, but trying to tax ones operating
> >elsewhere isn't going to work, and e-commerce sites will just move to
> >places that don't have sales tax
>
>I think you are misreading the argument.  The sales tax that applies is
>that of the *buyer's* state, not the seller's.

Then it isn't a sales tax, it's a purchase tax, and the buyer would be
responsible for collecting it and submitting it to the revenue
agency.  That's not what they are talking about.

They are talking about regulating (controlling the behavior of) a business
in another state.  Requiring them to collect tax and submit it to a
"foreign" state is not something a state government has the power to do for
any entity not within their borders...even if the buyer is.  This is
exactly the sort of thing the commerce clause was intended to
prevent.  It's clearly interstate commerce when the seller and buyer are
not in the same state, and interstate commerce is clearly the domain of the
federal government.

-- Mike B.