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Senate Looking At Taxing Online Sales In Florida
April 12, 2013
Internet retailers would have to collect sales tax when Florida residents make online purchases and remit the money to the state under a bill that cleared a Senate committee Thursday.
The measure would offset the increased revenue brought in by the measure by lowering other taxes, including offering a sales tax holiday for shoppers at brick and mortar stores. The “revenue neutral” offset provision helps Republican backers of the idea avoid any notion that the proposal is a tax increase, although they also claim that the bill simply modernizes the tax laws to require collection of money that should have been flowing into state coffers all along.
In addition to offsetting new revenue through what would surely be a popular break from the sales tax, the bill (SB 316) also would lower the communications services tax rate. That tax is charged on things like telephone service, and cable and satellite TV. Bill sponsor Sen. Nancy Detert said Florida residents would notice their home Internet service would be cheaper, offsetting the additional cost of items purchased through that Internet connection.
Online retailers like Amazon don’t collect sales taxes on Florida purchases, even though Florida lawmakers say that technically, the purchases should be subject to the state’s 6 percent sales and use tax.
“It’s something that we should have been collecting and haven’t,” said Detert, R-Venice.
The bill is strongly supported by physical retailers who rely on non-Internet sales, who have claimed for years they’re at a disadvantage because buyers would rather purchase items online to save sales tax.
“This bill helps to support the bricks and mortar stores in our state,” said Detert. “We’re helping small business and we’re helping with a tax refund to consumers.”
The bill passed 10-1 in the Senate Finance and Tax Subcommittee, with the lone no vote coming from the panel’s chairwoman Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange.
While voting for it, Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, questioned why lawmakers were insistent on offsetting the new revenue with other tax cuts.
“This is money we’re already due, so it shouldn’t have to have an offset,” Clemens said.
But legislation that could be interpreted as raising taxes has never played well in the GOP-dominated Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott has begun a re-election campaign and is expected to be cool to anything opponents might portray as a tax increase.
“We’re doing a tax shift,” insisted Detert.
By The News Service of Florida
Comments
9 Responses to “Senate Looking At Taxing Online Sales In Florida”
Why do state officials in FL think they have juristiction of companies not located here? I”m located in FL and I sell stuff online. If I ship in FL, I collect sales tax. If California tried telling me I had to collect sales tax for THEM, I’d either ignore them or stop shipping to CA. As soon as I do anything over state lines, its now federal, not state control. So lets say 50 different states pass the same law…like I’m really going to keep track of 50 different states sales tax rate, collect it different for every state, and file 50 different sales tax returns every month? I think not!
If you don’t agree with this bill, email your representative/senators. Let them know how you feel or just sit back and accept whatever they do.
If I spend my money out of state, it is none of Florida’s business.
I can drive to Alabama, buy a Flat screen TV and not have to stop at the state line to pay taxes.
How is Amazon, Overstocked, HSN or the like any different?
That certainly is not Florida commerce, why does the state think I OWE THEM MONEY?
In the end, this is just another money grab by the state!
It becomes more and more that the politicians are educated well passed their intelligence. Get a clue before you screw up again!
No more tax. No more tax. We pay way too much now.
The state legislature wants to raise taxes? Shocking…
No More Taxes.
Gee, just what we need…more taxes. All this will do is drive businesses out of Florida to a state where they don’t collect taxes. I agree with Henry Coe.
It makes no sense or cents to offsetting taxes that are due by reducing other taxes, especially while basing this revenue on speculation of future revenue that is likely to be untraceable or unenforceable without a huge lack of privacy online and more government intrusions in to what everyone does on their PC.
I think what this bill will ultimately do is convince Florida online purchases to be made outside of Florida, hurting Florida businesses while having a loss of revenue for the state from the offset.
In my opinion, this is a great example of Republicans saying government is the problem and then getting elected to make government not function while spending government dollars and creating more deficit.
This revenue loss, IMO, will lead to more cuts in places where we cant afford any more budget cuts while hurting Florida small businesses.