Taxes

Link: Push To Tax Online Sales Gains Strength

Summary: When one purchases something online, they normally do not pay tax on their purchase thanks to the Supreme Court decision in 1992 that said only purchases from "brick and mortar" stores or physical locations can be taxed. States however need the extra income that could come from the internet sales, so they are considering passing laws taxing online purchases.

Relevance: When we talked about the Federal budget, we talked about how they must budget all of the incoming money, to be spent in different areas. The States are in the same boat, they all have deficits because most are spending more than they are taking in, and it's causing things to happen that the people do not like. Also, we are talking about the Supreme Court, and their power to rule whether legislation is constitutional or not. Because the Supreme Court decided that stores can only be taxed in the state where they have a physical presence, many states are taking matters into their own hands, because congress cannot change anything because of the ruling. This shows how the Judicial Branch can be a check on the Legislative Branch.

Opinion: I don't feel like online retailers should be taxed, especially if it's from small businesses that sell through Amazon.com or eBay.com. When they get taxed, it takes away from their profits and gives the people less buying power. Why not take away tax breaks from large corporations? Just a thought.