Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk Calls for "Fairness and Equality" in Taxation
on Internet Sales By Crystal Swann Speaking during the general session of the National League of
Cities meeting in Los Angeles, December 1-4, Dallas Mayor Kirk told the
audience and fellow panelists that taxation on goods sold over the
Internet does not amount to a "new tax." Mayor Kirk shared the stage with
Steven Rauschenberger, an Illinois State Legislator, David Bullington,
Vice President of Taxes, Wal-Mart, and David Gergen, who moderated the
panel discussion. Mayor
Kirk who also serves as the only city-elected official on the Advisory
Commission on Electronic Commerce, a 19-member panel created by Congress,
eloquently conveyed to the audience that the issue is not about taxation
of the Internet but is "about growth, about schools, about fire trucks,
about public safety and it is about all the things we do at the local
level and how we pay for it." The
difficulty, he noted, is that the matter has become a political debate
instead of a policy debate. He stressed that the oversimplified statement,
"don't tax my Internet," does not begin to address the policy implications
of treating sales over the Internet differently than sales at the corner
store or the local mall. Mayor Kirk stated, "we can't just make this an
augment over money; we have to make this an augment over equality and make
this augment in the context of our long-standing position of no unfunded
mandates from the federal government." Senator Rauschenberger joined Mayor Kirk in advancing the idea of
fairness and equity in the application of sales taxes but had a slightly
different perspective. Sen. Rauschenberger stated that "the federal
moratorium on Internet taxation interdicts state sovereign rights to raise
revenue, noting that 47 out 50 use sales tax as a state revenue source."
He stated that if the moratorium is allowed to continue it could
effectively result in the deconstruction of the sales tax as a state and
local revenue. David Bullington pointed out that there are disenfranchised
individuals who do not have the credit cards and the computers and who
will be not be able to participate in the online tax-free purchases, but
will instead be forced to endure an unfair 6-8% tax burden. He concluding
by stating that the sales should be applied equitably and fairly to all
sales transactions. The
panelists agreed overall that this is an issue that must be addressed and
that local officials must become involved by educating members of their
Congressional delegations. |
![]()
|