We all get the treat of paying more for online purchases tomorrow, thanks to South Dakota’s great trick of imposing its laws in other states. Special Session Senate Bill 1 kicks in tomorrow, requiring online vendors around the country to collect and remit sales tax from their South Dakota customers. Your Christmas shopping will thus generate a little more revenue for our state budget… revenue that is already spoken for by the Partridge Amendment, which will lower the statewide sales tax rate by a tenth of a percentage point for each $20 million in new tax we collect on online loot.
Interested buyers and sellers can review the details of our new online sales tax on the South Dakota Department of Revenue website.
Of course, we have yet to see what happens when other states start sending collection notices to South Dakota businesses selling their wares online, demanding remittance of sales tax on the hunting gear, guns, and other goods to folks from other states.
This is a great law providing equity for brick and mortar busunesses.
Will do nothing to help brick and mortar.
On line offers way more selection along with being much simplier than the traditional methods of shopping, On line is in many cases more expensive that traditional stores.. It is about meeting consumer needs.
Online stores are new malls.
This tax only slows the economy.
Sales taxes are about meeting state government needs. We need the online sales tax revenue as much as we need the brick and mortar sales tax revenue. Let it be done.
“This is a great law providing equity for brick and mortar businesses” how? The money is tax money. Tax money will go to the state government to spend on what they want. It didn’t decrease the sales tax our businesses pay.
Maybe you should have posted “This is a great law providing cash, out of the pockets of South Dakotan citizens who buy things online, for the government to blow”.
OldSarge, are you hinting at a larger (off the tracks) argument against ANY taxation for the government to spend (“blow”)? It is not that THIS tax is bad, but that ALL taxes are bad? Ergo, ALL government spending is bad?
Speaking of taxes, though not immigrants, and the need for money, here’s an interesting bit from Bloomberg for us freeloaders:
“Fun fact: in the United States, regardless of the nation of their birth every single generation at every level of government consumes more benefits than they contribute in taxes, with one single exception according to the Fed: first generation immigrants, who contributed more federally than they received in benefits in the year. That includes dependents. First generation immigrants to the U.S. contributed $963 more than they received in federal benefits while a person whose grandparents immigrated ran a net deficit of $4,364.”
Justin Fox, Bloomberg
If you can’t figure it out OldSarge I’m not going to explain it to you. You can google it.
South Dakota’s government has operated with a balanced budget. They have all the money they need to operate and receive National accolades for their stewardship. Why do they need more? You have to understand, the government does not control itself and has no means to control itself other than for the people to limit what they can spend. A tax increase makes nothing better. You will not get better or more service, kids grades do not increase and you will still have pot holes. Nothing will change except they will now have more smart boards in schools (but grades will not change), you will have new tractors to mow the roadsides but they will still cut the same amount of roadside, your license plates won’t go down in cost, your sales tax will not go down, you will get nothing but just more spending. There is not point in this tax other than to give the state government more money taken from the people who reside in this state to blow.
I just purchased $2400 worth of plumbing fixtures and stuff for my bathroom remodeling project. Not only did I get it at a 28% lower cost to a local B and M store – I also squeaked by before the sales tax kicked in – saving me an additional $96. And the local supplier would have needed 3 weeks to assure delivery of the “special order” items, while the online supplier guaranteed free delivery by Friday. Just sayin’.
What’s the state gonna do when I purchase some specialty items from Canada direct from the manufacturer?
Old Sarge – OBVIOUSLY you have not studied this law. The way it works = as I recall – is that for every $20MM in additional sales tax collected from on-line shoppers – the in state sales tax will be reduced by some percentage. I don’t have the exact formula handy – but it’s out there – if you’d care to look. So your whole “it won’t reduce the sales tax you pay” statement is BS.
As of 2015, South Dakota gets 35.1% of state budget from the federal governmentwhich would make OS statement that the state has all the funds they need to balance the budget.
OldSarg
2018-10-31 at 17:30
South Dakota’s government has operated with a balanced budget. They have all the money they need to operate and receive National accolades for their stewardship.
Riiiight!
I’d guess by now OldSferbrains knows what he is.
mike the taxes, whether they come from the federal government or state, is all part of the budget. When you post things like you did above people think your are a town idiot but since you don’t live in any South Dakota towns it would apply to your home state.
I think that if the Pootiepublicans running things in Pierre (I’m looking at you, Malicious Marky), are so enamored of their budgetary skills, they ought to actually do it on their own, like they pretend too. That is, without the federal “Government is the problem” help.
Of course that means SD doesn’t have to send any tax $ to DC. Wait. What? Oh, they already don’t? Oh, they TAKE unearned money from blue states?
Gee. I think that means the entire SDGOP spin about the budget is bulllllllll–oney. Hmmmm.
O, I think OS missed your question. Let me try waving it under his nose again, see if he’ll bite:
OS, how is your critique of the Wayfair tax unique? Given just the words you’ve placed on the page, doesn’t your argument amount to an indictment of all taxes and a declaration that we should repeal all taxes? Aren’t you calling for anarchy?
Cory, it doesn’t matter if it’s Wayfair of All Adults House of Pleasure Online Sales. My point is it is just another grab at the workers money. See, I believe if a man or woman earns a dollar they paid tax on they shouldn’t have to pay taxes again on that same dollar. In addition, the money, in this case, all goes to the state who spends it in any fashion they would like. So many support the tax on tobacco, the tax on online sales, the tax on property, the tax on your car plates, the tax on whatever but in the end it all goes into a pot where those we elect decide where to spend it. yes, we get to elect those in office but once they are there we no longer have control over them other than to not vote for them next time around but we do have additional weapons: 1) Balanced budget 2) Limited dollars. Think there is a need for tax dollars but I also believe in responsible spending.
No, I don’t work for the state but I see the waste on an even more astronomical scale and, believe me, I fight against the waste. You have no idea the number of big screen TVs I see hanging on the walls in government buildings unneeded and unused. Those I see making foolish decision I tell them the story of the waitress and the money they are spending was taken from her pay and if they are to waste her hard earned money they are actually hurting a person they can relate too or may even know. We all have a part in the spending but to think just giving unnamed bureaucrats more will somehow make them smarter in their spending is stupid. Bureaucrats are people just like you and me but after a while they see their budgets as theirs and not the peoples. Remember, you’re and educator: Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
OS – When one files one’s Federal Income tax, one can DEDUCT the State and local (sales) tax from the Fed Tax (those taxes you’ve “already paid” in your own vernacular). So see – you are NOT paying taxes again – or over and above on your earnings. You essentially get a REBATE from the feds on those sales taxes. And thanks to someone with some REASON on their side – the Repubs in DC were STOPPED from eliminating that SALT (state and local tax) amount from your federal taxes – which is what they wanted to do. EVIDENCE says that it is the Republicans and not the Democrats that want to “grab all the tax dollars they can” from you. Twice or three times if at all possible.