[time-nuts] S743 Marketplace Fariness Act

[johncroos at aol.com]

The ebay message re this law is probably legit. In any case
the congress IS considering such a law. In essence it forces
all internet sellers to collect the sales tax due in the buyers state. If you live in a state with a law requiring that sales tax be paid on all out of state purchases (internet or not), often called a "use" tax, as the buyer you are required to pay this tax. The taxes already are on the books, they are often not enforced.

You can learn all about this with a Google search which will reveal all sorts of opinions. Here is one that is not too
bad:  

http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2013/04/23/five-things-you-should-know-about-the-long-overdue-online-sales-tax-bill/

If you already comply with the law and do a lot of internet purchases; passage will relieve you of a pain in the ass accounting job at tax time. If your state has no such tax or if you avoid paying it, though your state requires it, passage will cost you some sale taxes you would have otherwise escaped.

One nasty consequence is that the software to pull this off is non-trivial since local sales taxes in many states vary by county, school district, local bond issues and so on. How that is handled should be amusing.

-73 john k6iql