|
Press
Release Don't Let Governors' Net Tax Scheme Pick Consumers' Pockets Released by James Plummer on 11/19/99 of Consumer Alert |
Press
Releases by Release Date by Organization Media Advisories by Release Date by Organization Opinions/Editorial by Release Date by Organization All Press Releases/ Editorial/ Media Advisories by Release Date by Organization |
| For release:
November 16 Contact: James Plummer jplummer@consumeralert.org (202) 467-5809 The tax-hungry National Governors Association finally bleated forth this morning their demands on e-commerce, and it isn't a pretty sight. Their so-called "Streamlined Sales Tax for the 21st Century" would have 50 statehouses extend their money-hungry tentacles across state lines to pick the pockets of consumers who dare shop online. Currently, the Internet is tax-free by order of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, signed into law in October 1998. The moratorium was set for three years, and the ITFA also created an Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce to study the issue of Internet taxes and report back to Congress. The Commission's recommendations are expected in April. Utah Gov. Carl Leavitt, unofficial leader of the Commission's pro-tax faction, unveiled his NGA plan today at the National Press Club. The NGA system, run by alleged "Trusted Third Parties," would install software on vendors' machines, collecting information on every purchase, and sending relevant tax information to the so-called "TTPs." The Parties would naturally impose an additional administrative tax from the states -- yet another new tax. The NGA barely tries to hide the fact that what they're proposing is the groundwork for a national sales tax. One of the NGA's goals, stated on their website, is to "adopt a completely unified system over the 6-8 year time period." How unified? "This system could eventually be extended to all merchants and all types of transactions, regardless of whether they occur in a store, through a catalog, or via the Internet." To figure how much tax they owe and to whom, the NGA would brand consumers with a location-specific "geocode" wherever they shop. Once stuck with a geocode, a consumer cannot escape his native tax system. Not by shopping online or over the phone -- not even by driving to another state, if the NGA has its way. One wonders if they will deign to allow even face-to-face cash transactions without showing your papers. Why not go ahead and tattoo the geocode on the forehead? It is unclear how consumers may change their geocode. Can a consumer move to a low-tax state without "proving" he intends to settle there? Or will citizens, hearkening back to Herodic times, carry the same geocode from cradle to grave? So where exactly does consumer privacy fit into this maze of electronic red tape? The governors' plan purports to prohibit the use of collected "incidental" information "for commercial purchases." There is no mention of the incidental information involving consumer purchases. Consumers who dare to buy the wrong kind of books or videos could have their purchases scrutinized and collated by a hapless analyst in a federal alphabet soup agency. Others may find the IRS sifting through their purchases, looking for spending habits vaguely inconsistent with their government-approved income. The governors call their scheme the "Zero-Burden Plan." The real zero-burden plan would be an extension of the Internet tax moratorium. The options opening up to consumers online should not be strangled in red tape, but should be left alone to grow even more plentiful. If there is one thing consumers don't need, it's more taxes -- online or off. | |
 |