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Effort Underway To Collect Taxes On Internet Sales
February 6, 2013
An annual effort to collect taxes on Internet sales began again in the Legislature on Tuesday, with a Senate committee agreeing to offset any new money collected with other tax breaks in a bid to appease anti-tax lawmakers.
The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee approved a measure (SB 316) by committee chairwoman Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, that would require Internet vendors who sell to Florida residents to pay state sales tax.
The bill would require Internet based companies, even if they don’t have a physical presence in Florida, to pay sales tax when a product is sold to a person residing in Florida. Though estimates vary widely, Detert said the tax would generate about $400 million in additional sales tax revenue.
The bill was approved 10-1, but still needs approval from three other Senate committees before the floor. A similar House bill (HB 497) is yet to get a committee hearing.
The effort to collect Internet taxes has been cursed for years by the fear of a backlash from voters for voting to increase taxes – even though backers have long argued that the tax is supposed to be charged already, but simply isn’t paid.
In an attempt to win over anti-tax lawmakers, the measure this year includes a $141 million sales tax cut for machinery and equipment used in manufacturing and another $150 million cut in the communication services tax, charged on certain phone and other telecommunications services.
“Rather than worry about whether this is a new tax, a tax reduction, or a tax increase, what this really is, is tax reform,” Detert said.
Business groups queued up on Tuesday to add their support. Representatives from the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida said the time has come to end Internet tax breaks that hurt storefronts and strip malls – now sometimes places that simply showcase items that are later purchased on the web.
“It puts everyone on an equal footing,” said Sen. Gwen Margolis, D- Miami. “I’m tired of seeing empty shopping centers. The money is walking away from Florida.”
“It has been a lingering problem and it has only gotten bigger and bigger,” said Randy Miller, executive vice president of the Florida Retail Federation. “The face of retailing is changing. We recognize that people don’t want to go to the mall anymore. They want to sit at their computer.”
“This protects employees – employees who bring paychecks home to provide for their families,” said Brewster Bevis, senior vice president for Associated Industries of Florida.
Noticeably absent from Tuesday meeting were representatives of Amazon.com and other Internet merchants that enjoy a competitive advantage.
By The News Service of Florida
Comments
17 Responses to “Effort Underway To Collect Taxes On Internet Sales”
what irks me is the fact that I own a legit business…I pay my taxes, buy all of the required lisences, etc, but yet there are soooo many “home” type business out there that are run from their homes or yards, and they don’t have to do anything, don’t have to report anything, just pocket all the money
“The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee approved a measure (SB 316) by committee chairwoman Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, that would require Internet vendors who sell to Florida residents to pay state sales tax.”
So this part of the SB is a tax increase on FL residents that make retail internet purchases in small, moderate, or large dollar amounts.
“In an attempt to win over anti-tax lawmakers, the measure this year includes a $141 million sales tax cut for machinery and equipment used in manufacturing and another $150 million cut in the communication services tax, charged on certain phone and other telecommunications services.”
And this part of the SB is another tax break for businesses that already enjoy local, state, and federal tax exemptions. States and counties are lined up at the gate to offer tax breaks for new businesses while ignoring long established local businesses.
So, an increase in taxes for the average resident and another cut for the manufacturing and telecom industries.
No thanks, hopefully SB 316 will peacefully go away regardless of either parties support.
Amen Henry Coe, especially that last paragraph.
If the State of Florida were to collect tax revenue from online sales, then they would likely have to collect them from the consumer and if they are going to do that, then it would be unfair to local business for the state to keep making Local Businesses have to collect taxes for the Department of Revenue. So, that would mean everyone would need to pay their sales tax to the FDOR for everything they purchased and that would create the need to increase the size and scope for the Florida Dept of Revenue in order to collect taxes or find tax cheats. In other words, forcing people to pay their own sales tax for online purchases will open a really big can of worms and trying to force business outside of Florida, especially from outside the USA, to pay Florida Sales tax would be a mess. IMO, legally, that could only work if we were talking about having a National Sales Tax for online purchases which might open the door to having a National Sales Tax on all purchases to include offline.
I know government needs revenue, but the economy is still fragile and this tax would be regressive toward growth.
Plus, it seems like every time we start to gain ground with economic growth, the oil companies and Wall Street Speculators start bumping up the price of gas. Before they start talking about more taxes, we need to stop feeding our tax dollars to corporate welfare and subsidies for business like big oil.
Good lord people,. there are MANY states that charge taxes for internet purchases! This is nothing new!! (except to Florida)
If you run an internet business, and this is too difficult, then you need to get out of business! Taxes are a way of life.
Great impair one on of the few thriving industries left in the United States. Internet vendors in Florida already pay sales tax on good sold in Florida. I do. Now am I supposed to keep track of 50 different sales taxes? A different one for each state I sell to and make the quarterly reports and payments to each state. Just doing the paperwork on that will cost as much as the taxes. This is stupid and what it will mean is that internet vendors will not ship to Florida any more. Sell your ebay stock if this gains traction around the country.
“Sen. Gwen Margolis, D- Miami. “I’m tired of seeing empty shopping centers. The money is walking away from Florida”
The government is the chief burden on the business community, not competition, online or otherwise! They squander away too large a percentage of what they take from GDP of this country to ingrain themselves in their political office and then bemoan the fact they can’t run government services on what’s left over after their out of control spending. They are incensed that their is commerce occurring they they aren’t profiting from. Remember, it’s the consumers that will PAY, not these evil online retailers!
These politicians would kill the “golden goose” to greedily get at the “eggs”.
I’m curious as to how they are going to enforce this tax on out of state vendors. I don’t need a license from Florida to operate an internet business in another state. So if I refuse to collect their tax for them what are they going to do also how will they know if I make a sale into Florida, there are millions of sales made each day, are they going to employ that number of people in order to keep tabs on every sale. If so they just spent their tax revenue that was generated. But that is why they were elected to office, so that we could have them all gathered in one area. It makes it easy for us to keep tabs on those mentally challenged.
Next, they will want to tax the gas that is bought in Al., and driven in Fl. I guess that I shouldn’t say that. Someone in government might read my comment.
A sure fire way to get new blood into the Florida legislature, I’m pretty sure that anyone who votes for it becomes an “ex-incumbent during the next election. I’m also pretty sure that a list of the legislators and how they voted on the bill will be widely circulated before the next election.
So now we pay two sales taxes….one to the state of sale and the other to the state it is sold to!
Anything to add taxes to the people! They have lost my vote next election.
It will not make any difference what we think . Did the county commissioners worry about our opinion when they stuck a .04 cent sales tax on the county. And the state want either.
why not just enforce the law instead of another law stating the same thing. If you sue a few people then the message will be heard.
What’s next? Taxing the air we breathe? Every time we flush our toilets? Is never going to end!
Don’t do it.
I am sure that Sen Margolis is not one to let a dollar slip by.