Why we have intrusive government regulations.

[Courtesy Flush]

I was listening to NPR today, and they ran a story about online sales tax. They said that Amazon knows that states want them to collect taxes, and they actually said something to the effect that they would gladly comply if the law tells them they have to do so. Well, if you'd gladly comply, why not prevent the government from forcing you, by collecting the taxes?

Corporate culture has reached the point where they will not do anything that might cut into their profits unless the government forces them to. I'm 51 years old, and I remember when I was a kid, television broadcasters followed the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Practices_for_Television_Broadcasters">Television Code. They used to run PSAs explaining that this was a code of conduct that the industry created in order to be good public citizens, AND to prevent the government from forcing a code on them. I'm no fan of the Television Code, but it's still a good example of how industry can elect to self regulate, and avoid more complicated government intrusions.

So soon we'll hear people complaining about Big Government forcing online retailers to collect sales taxes, but remember, they were offered the opportunity to do it under their own terms.

[Drale]

1. The ESRB was created by the video game industry

for that very reason, to stop to government from censoring the industry. There are still good companies in the world, they are just becoming way to scarce.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. I don't quite understand, Online retailers do collect sales tax. But only for the state in which

they are located or have some warehouse. And that is the way it should be.
Sales tax is unfair.

[Courtesy Flush]

3. The story said they're not paying

In states where they have warehouses.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. Quite right, no nexus, no taxes

By defining affiliates as a nexus means that the affliate programs die and with it any revenue it brought it. Amazon will continue ship to Illinois and profit. Illinois will see no taxes and lose revenue. Not smart, even for Illinois.

[Shagbark Hickory]

6. If they're outsourcing their order fulfillment which they seem to do (to UPS maybe?) ...

then is this what it's about?
If my order ships from a UPS warehouse in Kentucky then you're saying Amazon should collect sales tax for Kentucky?

I still disagree with this too. They are paying UPS. UPS pays their own state and local taxes and federal tax. They still employ people who pay state and local taxes and federal tax.

Collecting sales tax is just another way to collect taxes without making the rich pay their fair share.

[Nikia]

4. Regulations force everyone to do something

Companies that might be more socially conscious fear that if they voluntarily do something that might increase their costs internally and/or to customers, that they will lose their market share. Having a regulation that forces their competitors to do something as well solves the problem.