Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 1 of 3 · from the scan, no model involved
Sales Taxes
•' Years ago catalog sales escaped state sales taxes. Then ;the order forms started requiring customers who lived in the Istate from which the goods were ordered to pay the state’s •sales taxes. J Next came order forms requiring people from various States to pay their state’s sales taxes. In general this •reflected laws requiring sales taxes to be paid in any state Jwhere the company had a “retail presence.” ! Next several states tried to get catalog campanies to •collect sales taxes even if there was no retail store belonging ' ^o the company in the state. They claimed that the catalogs themselves constituted a “retail presence.” The catalog •companies fought back claiming it could cost them a small ■fortune to keep track of the state and local sales taxes of every jurisdiction in the United States.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down these laws, but jadded that Congress could legislate in this area. Nothing has Come from Congress that we are aware of. •* Virginia did not get involved much in this process because lurking on the books for all the years since the state {adopted a sales tax was a clause that the state Department of Taxation claims required all Virginia taxpayers to start paying sales taxes on goods purchased from other states by tnail order starting with tax year 1992. 1 Sure enough, the 1992 Virginia state income tax form required taxpayers to figure out how much they had paid on catalog sales from out-of-state companies and add to their tax bill 4.5 percent sales tax. "l Several years ago most localities, including Rappahannock, dropped the personal property taxes on all property except motor vehicles. Before that taxpayers were supposed to list the value of their furniture, kitc hen < equipment, libraries, jewelry, farm animals and so forth and pay personal property taxes on that value. This was essentially an honesty tax, and it was widely flaunted.
The state sales tax on goods purchased by mail order from out-of-state is another honesty tax, but with a twist. The state claims the right to rummage through credit card records to see if taxpayers are declaring all their catalogpurchases.
This is a ridiculous way to go about taxing catalog sales. : If states feel they must try to collect taxes on such sales, the only efficient way to go about it is to have the mail order companies collect their own state’s taxes.
If such a procedure requires Congressional action, then Congress should get busy on it, and not let the states continue their various gambits that put unreasonable burdens on mail Order houses and honest taxpayers.
86.5%