State tax grab efforts more and more are pitting governments against big Internet retailers.
Who gets forgotten, though, are the little guys and gals making a go at the American dream by running small retail businesses from their garages or Internet businesses from spare bedrooms.
Laws like the one passed recently in Colorado apply to all — from the smallest to the giants like Amazon and Overstock.com.
Colorado House Bill 1193, in fact, isn’t even specifically about Internet sales. The bill “concerning the collection of sales and use taxes on sales made by out-of-state retailers” addresses any sales activity in the state including solicitation by representatives and advertising.
It calls on businesses to pay state sales tax, or notify customers that they owe the tax and turn over sales reports to the state.
The law, like those passed in other states, seemingly ignores Supreme Court rulings in the 1990s regarding mail-order companies and probably shouldn’t have passed.
As the way we transact business changes, national tax law also ought to change, too.
Any federal law, however, must be fair and equitable for governments and businesses, especially for the smallest entrepreneurs, who need not be drowned by burdensome paperwork to comply with hundreds of taxing districts’ rules.
Small-business owners deserve to work at home if they choose or to grow into the next big thing.
That’s the American way.
