A nasty, post-election lame duck surprise

capitolRemember the whole debate over letting states impose sales taxes on Internet businesses?    Well, it will be back AFTER the November election.  Yep. All of those folks fresh off of facing the voters — including some losers — will be voting on whether to give government one more way to raid your wallet.

Confront any and all candidates for Congress you encounter on this issue.  Internet-based startups have been thriving in recent years.  If this legislation passes, you could have grandma selling her quilts on eBay end up having to retain a staff of accountants to figure and file taxes in multiple states. shake

Some big business are screaming about how unfair e-businesses are.  Some businesses maintain a lot of overhead — brick and mortar buildings, people, vehicles — while others simply have a web page, some servers, and a handful of employees. Politicians claim they need one more source of cash flow, since they can’t seem to make do with what they loot from us each April.  

It is NOT the job of government to ensure “fairness.”  At the heart of capitalism is the old meme about”survival of the fittest”.  Keep an eye on your rivals while making yourself more competitive and attractive to customers.  Evolve or die.  Anyone seen a record store, lately? A movie rental store? 

The Internet is a powerful tool that has greatly benefited our economy — and will continue to  do so.  An e-business can turn a hobbyist working in his garage into an international businessman. 

There’s no problem with paying taxes in your home locale.  But allowing 50-plus taxing entities a shot at an e-businessperson’s wallet is a great way to stomp out up-and-comers to the benefit of the fat-cats (Wal-Mart, etc.) who can afford an army of accountants and are already on top.