1. Shop China. According to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), "the way this bill is going to work, people are going to end up calling it the shop Canada bill or maybe the shop Mexico bill or, what is even more ominous, the shop China bill."
2. Taxation without Representation. As Heritage President Jim DeMint explains, the internet sales tax "violates the classic American principle of 'no taxation without representation.' Retailers would be forced to act as tax collectors for states in which they have no voice."
3. Playing favorites. The left disingenuously claims this bill is about leveling the playing field. The exact opposite is true. This bill was a direct result of lobbying by large corporations. This bill is crafted to advance the interests of big government and big businesses.
4. Growing state governments. This bill would tax out of state internet companies who have chosen their business model based on rules that have existed for over 20 years. It's about cash-strapped states wanting more money to grow their governments, and some lawmakers see out of state internet businesses as easy targets because they have no voice to oppose this tax.
5. Violation of citizens' rights. As Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) explains, many American citizens chose to live in states without sales tax. He also calls this bill a "clear infringement on states' rights that we cannot stand for."
6. Audits. This bill would require internet businesses to hire costly lawyers and accountants so that they could deal with burdensome paperwork and complex tax rules that would result from being taxed in America's 9,646 different taxing jurisdictions. In effect, online businesses will face a threat of 46 out-of-state audits.
7. Increased costs for consumers. Who on earth would want to pay more money for goods they purchase online? That's precisely what this bill leads to - less money in the pockets of people and more money for big government.
8. Harm to small businesses. Small businesses are the very fabric of this nation. And most small business owners don't have the administrative resources to comply with this ridiculous law.
9. Liberals love it. This bill will certainly have a greater burden on low-income families and individuals when they do chose to shop online. One liberal blog argues:
poorer families pay a larger share of their income in sales taxes than better-off families do because they have to spend almost everything they earn.
Exactly. This proves our point. So why would we want to burden them with yet more sales tax?
Then they claim that some poor people don't have computers or internet. But regardless of your socioeconomic status, you can shop online. If you don't own a computer, you can use a friend's or use one at a public library. The bottom line is that, if low-income Americans are seeking bargains by shopping online, they'll be getting hit the hardest.
10. Obama endorsed it. This President has raised taxes on Americans more than enough, to the detriment of the economy, and consequently, to the detriment of poor and middle income Americans. It is no surprise he wants to harm small businesses and consumers yet again.