So much has been written about new tax laws States are imposing to gain revenue from buyers who fail to voluntarily pay Use Tax. The primary argument bloggers and syndicated columists use is that ‘It Levels The Paying Field’ between Online Retail and a Bricks and Mortar [B&M].
Lets dispel that MYTH
The term was invented by Legislators, primarily because they see a missing piece of the tax pie, brought on by the lack of enforcement of existing Use Tax law. You buy something online, the buyer is obligated to pay that States’ Sales Tax [Use Tax] on the product. It’s a line item on your yearly tax form that most consumers eith ignore or lie about when filling out the form.
What about this ‘Level Playing Field’ argument? Lets look at the facts and advantages/disadvantages of online retail vs. B&M:
~ A B&M does not share the same tax load on a community that online retail has. A B&M uses more police, fire and sanitation services than online. Should online be required to subsidize a B&M’s heavier tax burden?
~ What law prevents a B&M from selling online?
~ Both online and a B&M collect Sales Tax for in-state sales.
~ You can’t touch or feel a product online, and answers to questions can take days. Not so in a B&M store, and that sales person’s pitch often is the dealmaker for you to leave the store with product in hand. … Advantage: the B&M.
~ For heavy items, the shipping often offsets any cost savings online retail may offer.
~ For lighter items, even with Sales Tax included, online can still be cheaper, because they do not have the high overhead a B&M pays. Making / adding Sales Tax to an online purchase will not match prices Advantage: Online
~ What about the 5 States in the US that have no Sales tax? How are the pundits arguing that advantage/disadvantage, if there is one?
~ Shopping online is GREEN. Less travel, no standing in line, shop and buy @ 3AM in your PJs, and the delivery services still travel XX miles per day, whether delivering to that B&M with resellable goods, or to your front door. By buying GREEN, that alone should deserve a tax (carbon) credit, shouldn’t it?
Should States collect Uales Tax? According to existing law, yes, of course! The consumer is obligated to obey the law and remit lawful tax. That is a burden of the consumer, not the online seller. If States wish to ‘level the playing field’, they need to enforce existing law first before inventing new, bad, unconstitutional law like this affiliate tax passed in NY, RI, NC, and CO.
Unenforceable they [legislators] say? A) as an online retailer, that’s not my probem. B) There is a solution. They could get the Merchant Accounts (Visa, MC, PayPal) to collect the Use Tax at the point of sale, then remit the Use Tax directly to the State DOR, but that plan is too simple for Legislators to understand.

The US Congress Judiciary Committe will hold hearings on Fe. 4 2010 concerting the role of Congress in defining the role of Defining Nexus. Here is the link to the Committee http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_100204.html As an online retailer, I urge other sellers to write to the parties involved an express your views.

~ The ‘Amazon Tax’ law imposed by the State of New York is unconstitutional, and violates States Rights. The definition of nexus in that law is an invention, not reality.
~ If the Streamlined Tax folks had their way, businesses would be forced to collect and remit sales tax from over 8,000 tax districts which are not defined by zip code. How would YOU like to file quarterly tax reports for 45 States, be subject to tax audits, and need to be knowledgeable for what is eligable for Sales Tax and what is not?
~ Small business cannot afford to do the paperwork, either by hiring extra staff, soliciting a 3p provider, or cover the extra costs involved. This is legislation that will put small business out of business.
~ States have existing laws on the books to collect Sales Tax now It’s called Use Tax. Make that mandatory, rather than voluntary as it is now.
~ Incorporate the Merchant Accounts (Visa, MC, PayPal) to collect Use Tax and remit directly to the States. States would pay the related fees, get instant funds, and it would reduce paperwork for all involved.

Lastly, GET INVOLVED. We as a country need to let our legislators know that proposed law is too much of a burden on small business.

It’s simple. How do you keep up with over 8000 Tax Districts that are not defined by zip code?

Lets forget about SST for the moment and look at what is going on in your State. Here is an article I ran across the other day. http://tinyurl.com/yel67vg It seems a customer bought an item from QVC. QVC charged her 9% sales tax because she had a Myrtle Beach, SC zip code. While Myrtle Beach has a city tax of 3%, it is added to the South Carolina base tax rate of 6%. Problem is, the customer does not live within the city limits of Myrtle Beach. When I contacted the City Manager of Myrtle Beach, I was told that there are actually 3 zip codes that are touched by the city. Unfortunately, all 3 zip codes also have areas within them that are not subject to the city tax. So now we have an angry customer, a vendor who is attempting to follow the law, and a demanding city that takes no responsibility for it’s poor planning.

The City Manager’s solution to collect the correct tax? Ask the customer where they live before the purchase is made. Oh sure. I’ll be sure to do that for that 3AM automated online purchase.

I don’t mean to be picking on Myrtle Beach. This is a State Wide problem, and I’m sure the same problem exists in your State as well. The SC DOR has a State Zip code PDF file you can download. While the information is useful, it is also incomplete. There are over 40 instances of counties and cities that share zip codes, and no way to pinpoint exact locations to match the tax rate. To make matters worse, some counties want additional tax for goods going in, others want it for goods going out, and yes, still others want tax for goods going in AND out.

Legislators have shown that while writing law, they completely forgot about online retail and the way sales information is processed. It is almost impossible to asses and collect the correct Sales Tax. Most online venues (eBay for example) are setup to collect only one tax rate, usually the State’s base rate. Website with shopping carts are mostly setup the same way. WHile there are outside vendors who will process this information for you, the processing charge for this service is cost prohibitive for small business, and without 9 digit zip code data, is impossible to accurately calculate.

So what are the solutions? The easiest and most painless it to exempt online purchases from local option sales tax. Online businesses do not require the same tax load on a City as a Bricks & Mortar store (Fire, Police, Sanitation, Roads) so the argument of ‘fair share tax’ is nullified. There are other options. Above all, I would like to see consistency State Wide with the tax code. Requiring local tax for local needs is fine. Leave the collection to the locals and exempt outsiders from that tax. That’s the fair thing to do.

The system in place now is an extra burden on online retail and consumer alike. Since charging too much for tax is against the law, it is safer to charge the consumer the base rate, and pay the State DOR the difference out of pocket. But is that fair? Well, it isn’t for businesses.

Why won’t SST work? I just gave you one example. Multiply that times 8000 tax districts across the country in 45 States, and these districts are not defined by zip code. Just wait for your first Sales Tax Audit from an out of state investigator.

In response to LA Times article - http://tinyurl.com/kqvbeo  - The Internet isn’t tax-free

As an online retailer, I oppose any legislation to collect out of state sales tax.

The LA Times Editorial claims the Supreme Court decision (Quill vs. North Dakota 1992) is outdated.  I say it preserves States Rights.

They also claim there is a disadvantage to the B&M (Bricks & Mortar) stores. Lets look at the differences:
~ A B&M does not have the same tax load on a community (police/Fire/Sanitation service, etc.) that an online seller has.
~ You can’t touch or feel a product online. Answers to questions via email can take days.  Not so in a B&M.
~ What rule or law prevents a B&M from selling online?
~ For In-State sales, both the B&M and Online Sellers collect and remit Sales Tax.
~ A B&M does not charge separate shipping charges, for that Lazy-Boy chair, that could be $100 or more for shipping.
~ Shopping online is greener. No travel, no gas consumed, no waiting in line.  Shouldn’t that deserve a tax advantage for helping to save the planet?

The disadvantage I see is that the Legislators, not the B&M, sees a lack of tax revenue.

LA Times claims it is too difficult to collect Use Tax from the buyer.  As an online seller, my claim is that it is too difficult to collect tax for Out-of States sales.  There would be 45 State returns to make each Quarter, and it would need to address over 7500 tax districts, which are NOT defined by zip code.  It is impossible for me on the East Coast to know what tax law is required on the West Coast. Example: Is Sales Tax charged for shipping or not? In some States, it is, in others, it’s not.  And what about the tax audit for an innocent mistake?  You expect me to travel 3000 miles to present my case to the California DOR over a $100 tax bill? Enforcing collections of sales tax is so complicated, it would put most small businesses out of business.

A simpler solution would be to enforce existing law. … Use Tax.  Make it mandatory rather than voluntary as it is now, and it is simple to do.  Have the Merchant Accounts (Visa, MC, PayPal) assess and collect the tax and remit directly to the State (States pay related fees). eBay, Amazon and PayPal have the data, and software is available.  Shopping cart info can be easily modified to upload the correct info to the merchant account. In this way, sellers would not need to know if shipping, or clothing, or other items have one special tax rate or none at all.

Best of all, this system would cover those buyers who travel out of state to buy goods (to save on Sales Tax) from a B&M.  The billing/shipping info on the credit card would supply the information to assess the correct Use Tax.  It would be the responsibility of the consumer to challenge any incorrect tax assessed, not the seller.

The LA Times wants to do away with old law and write new law.  History has shown that Legislators are unable to write simple law, rather than enforce existing law. Worse is that they are clueless about online retail and how it works. My solution to collect Use Tax clearly is the best answer. Of course, we know why they won’t. They prefer to be re-elected and not deal with more wrath from consumers (voters).

The Main Street Fairness Act - Fair?  Hardly!

I am an online retailer on eBay, Amazon and my Website for over ten years.  The Main Street Fairness Act soon to be presented to Congress has me very concerned and a call to action is needed.

A thoughtful article was written in Auctionbytes. It talks about the whining and complaining over lost State Sales Tax revenues, and how Government wants to ‘fix’ this with new Federal mandates.  I have written both legislators mentioned in this article, as well as the Speaker of the House, and have received non-answers from all of them. I have several questions, and solutions to this problem.  It would be nice to have SOMEONE who would listen to ideas and have a dialog of exchange. You, the reader, can help.

~ What about Use Tax? All States have them, yet fail to enforce the law.  By simply doing this, they would not need to introduce new legislation.
~ Trying to figure tax for all the tax districts (now at over 5700) is impossible for small business. Hiring a tax service @ $30/$50/mo is an added expense that as a small business, I can’t afford.
~ What about States that have no sales tax? Does this put sellers in those States to have a competitive advantage? No, because the Use Tax even the playing field.
~ Amazon does not collect sales tax except for high volume sellers, and those are few. While it is illegal in some States to sell items as having tax included, Amazon blatantly ignores the law.

These are but a few of my concerns.  Now I do have a solution, and it is a simple one, yet getting others to make enough noise for legislators and others to listen has been an uphill battle.

When I have an In-State sale, I have to charge sales tax.  Since I have a Tax ID#, it is my duty as a tax collector for my State to do so.  When my merchant Account (Visa, MasterCard, PayPal) collects money on my behalf, they  also collect State sales tax.

Say I sell an item for $100.  Sales tax is $6.  Now if the merchant account charges me 3% to transfer the monies, this includes the $.18 fee on the sales tax.  But wait a minute.  That $.18 does not belong to me … it belongs to the State DOR!  That is an additional out of pocket expense for my business. Look at a local Wal-Mart that does $10M sales/yr  Sales tax of 6% = $600K  Even at a discount of 2% for merchant account fees means an additional business expense of $12,000 for monies that does not belong to Wal-Mart!

That’s the groundwork.  Now here is the solution:
Have the Merchant Accounts (Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, etc.) collect Sales and Use Tax and submit the funds directly to the State..  In turn, the States would pay the related Fees for collection.  Let us look at the benefits.
~ States get instant funds.
~ Fair collection of Use tax.
~ The collection system is already in place, just add software.
~ Less law needs to be written.
~ Less bookwork needed by Small Business
~ Works for Brick & Mortar Stores as well as Online Sellers.
~ Many States offer a discount when sellers fill out quarterly forms.  That fee could be waived if the Merchant Accounts would pay the State directly.

Personally, I am against the collection of out of State Sales Tax. The whole foundation of the idea is unconstitutional and violates the Tenth Amendment of States Rights.  Having lawmakers enforce existing law is the best solution, but the alternative solution I offer is a great compromise.

Bottom line, the payment processors can easily collect and deliver the sales tax to the state’s department of revenue, without being collected by the merchant’s. This is using existing laws which aren’t enforced. Enforce them, there is no need for this onerous legislation that will cost as much as it takes in.

As I said, you, the reader can help.  Talk about it , blog about it.  Make a comment in this blog!  Write to you legislators and Congress.  Agree or disagree, but say SOMETHING! The last thing we need is for Congress to write bad law, which they are famous for.

Keith Yockey

http://www.thedumbdog.com

A customer was complaining that the bargain disc he bought at the pet store shattered when it hit a tree.  His big concern was that the dog picked up the Frisbee at the bottom of the tree and cut his mouth!  It was not a serious injury, but it could have been a lot worse.

They need to ban all discs that can be broken when hitting a tree. That is a danger to humans as well as dogs!

So he wants to know which is the best floating disc for his dog. I can’t make that choice, as I do not know the dog or the owner. This is why I offer many different styles. Click on the links to the names of the Frisbees to view that product.

The DogMate Disc O Dog will not shatter.  It’s main feature is the spike on the bottom that makes it easy for the dog to pickup. It’s a harder construction  than most Frisbees, but is not hard on gums or teeth.

The Booda Turbo Disc has a hole in the middle for easy pickup and is a little softer than the DogMate. It has a reinforced outer ring for better durability and flight characteristics.

For floating Frisbees, I would choose the Orca. Very durable, chew proof and is a good flyer.  A little on the heavy side, it could double as a chew toy ( a no no in the Disc Dog World)

Similar to the Old Navy Frisbee, the DogObie is a soft rubber, flies VERY far, and also floats. I also rank this one high on the list.

I like floating Frisbees, and taught my dog a trick with one.  It was a hot summer day, and I pulled out the kiddy pool and put 6″-8″ of water in it.  After a 20 minute Frisbee session, my dog’s tongue was almost to the ground!  I tossed the Frisbee into the kiddy pool and told the dog “Wash It Off!” ( meaning to wash off the Frisbee )  into the kiddy pool he jumped to cool down and get a drink.  I didn’t have to give the command twice

Be sure to give your pup ear rubs from me.

Spring has Sprung, The Grass has Ris.  Where the heck my Flea meds is?

Tick and flea season is a year round problem in many areas, but spring is here, and ticks and fleas are getting spring fever!

So what about buying flea and tick meds online?  Yes they are cheaper, but take heed, they could be lethal to your dog or cat. Medications and dosage limits are regulated by the country of origin.  For example, the pyrithin levels for dogs is in Australia 5 times the level than the same chemical dosage allowed in the US.  It is hard to tell the country of origin for many of these products.  The other downside of buying online is the shelf life of the product.  You don’t know if the seller has had the product for over 6 months, whether it was purchased as closeout od discontinued product.  It may be good, but then again, it may be bad.  This, among other reasons is why TheDumbDog.com does not offer flea/tick medications.

Arm yourself with knowledge.  Know your product and the proper US approved dosage.  Most manufacturers have detailed web pages where you can get this information.  I’m not a Vet, so you won’t get recommendations or FDA warnings from me.  You will need to goto the source to get that
information.

Where do I shop?  My Vet is choice #1  My local Pet Supply Store is #2 Shopping online?  Be sure to pick a well known company that sells fresh product.  Petco and PetSmart are common places to go.  You can also shop at Dr. Fosters & Smith , and Valley Vet is another great place to find meds online.

Be sure to give your pup ear rubs from me.

Yes, it’s a real sport for real dogs.  It’s called Flyball, and here is how it works:

You get two teams of 4 dogs and they line up on a racing lane.  There is a set of Christmas Tree Lights, just like at a drag race.  The light changes to Green, and you send the first dog.  He runs over 4 jumps, 10 feet apart. At the end of the run is a box.  When the dog hits the box, it shoots out a tennis ball.  The dog catches the ball, then returns across the 4 jumps.  Once they cross the finish line, you send the second, then third and fourth dog.  First team back wins!

Now it is 50 feet to the box, and fifty feet back.  The world record for all four dogs is UNDER 16 SECONDS. Here is a link to a YouTube Video that shows a team from Hutto Texas having fun.  Why is this sport so popular? Well, ANY dog can play Flyball.  All breeds, pure and mixed, are welcome.  Small dogs are sought, as jump height for the team is determined by the smallest dog on the team.

It’s all about the dogs.  Humans get little recognition for there efforts.  In fact, the NAFA (North American Flyball Association) database only keeps records of the dog’s scores and points.  What makes this sport so FUN?  Ask the dogs.  Nothing is finer than Dogs Racing Dogs … and yes, they know its’ a DRAG RACE.

More info:  http://www.flyballdogs.com http://www.flyball.com

http://www.xcergy.com (boxes and jumps)

Shopping online is one of the safest and easiest ways to find what you are looking for from the comfort of your computer.  Here are some of the things I look for when shopping online:

Safety and protection from ID theft are one of the many reasons shoppers visit Amazon, eBay, and other major online retailers because they know their payment is safe, and the seller will deliver the goods in a timely manner.  I mention these two sites in particular, because they both have a  feedback system where you can rate the seller and see how well they have done in the past.  I also sell on both Amazon and eBay and you are welcome to shop in either of my stores.  Shopping on both venues does come at a price.   You may or may not see a difference in price, but know this:  Both eBay and Amazon charge ~15% to the seller to sell their items on their site.  This is one reason many sellers, like me, have their won website.  Cheaper pricing and better service often comes from these sites.

How do you trust a site?  Just because it is the first site you see when surfing Google does not make it the best bargain or service.

Trust a site?  Well, I hope you have anti virus software and spyware running on your computer.  That is the first line of defense.  Having Google Toolbar would be second.

ASK QUESTIONS! Don’t be afraid to ask questions! It is the only way to find out what kind of customer service your ’storekeeper’ has.  If you don’t get an answer in less than 36 hours, you just found out who they think their Customer is! Also while shopping look to see how they handle checkout.  Look for an authorized seal of approval, such as VeriSign, or Authorize.net.  PayPal is good. Excellent in fact, as they also offer a Security Key.  You password will NEVER get stolen or compromised if you have one of those.   Other’s prefer Google Checkout.  That’s good too.

Just be sure when you are checking out that the address bar at the top of the browser starts with https:  (not http:). This tells you that you are on a secure server, and that the connection is encrypted for security.

When the sale is completed and you have your product, please take time to leave feedback.  No I’m not talking about a form or page on eBay/Amazon, take the time to communicate directly with the seller, especially if there is a problem or concern with the product of service you received.

Happy Shopping, and give that furry eared pal of yours ear rubs from me.

The answer has nothing to do with money.  You purchase some Dog Frisbees from my site.  Who is my customer? Why it is the dog of course!  If the dog is not happy, the dog owner is not happy, and they won’t come back to buy more goodies.

Who is your Customer?  There are many in your everyday life at work and home.  Your customer is the person who is downline from you.  Example: the Post Office can’t deliver a package unless I have correct address and postage is applied.  I am the customer of you, the buyer.  I can’t do my job unless I get the correct address to ship to.

Look at you business and your job.  How many examples of Who is your Customer can you come up with?  How many instances can you find where you are the customer from those who are upline from you?  When you think about it, this makes the Janitor as important as the CEO in any organization.  As I said, money has nothing to do with this question, but has everything to do with job performance, and it might even get you a raise!

I wish I had come up with idea, but it came from an article I read in Business School back in the 80’s.   I apologize that I do not have the author’s name as it deserves credit where credit is due.  It is a lesson I never forgot, and I strive to serve the customer,  whomever they may be.

Be sure to give your pup ear rubs from me.