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If Retailers Can’t Agree On Sales Tax Issues, Why Would The Feds Trust On PCI?

Written by Evan Schuman
April 23rd, 2009

The threat of an Internet tax has been made so many times for so long as to be almost meaningless. But it’s not quite meaningless because it always seems to be just a few votes away from being taken seriously.

BusinessWeek this week looked at the latest legislative hurdles of the Web tax efforts, as well as various efforts to agree on a voluntary tax collection program. (Amazon’s for it, EBay is against.) But that program is essential, for reasons that have nothing to do with taxes. If retailers can’t get together on something as smallfry as a state tax collection program, why would Congress believe that retail can police itself on PCI security or other controversial areas?

Posted in E-Commerce, IT Strategy/Industry
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One Comment | Read If Retailers Can’t Agree On Sales Tax Issues, Why Would The Feds Trust On PCI?

  1. Rob Martell Says:
    April 23rd, 2009 at 9:11 pm

    In a past life, I filled out perhaps 25 different state sales tax forms each month/quarter for a small manufacturer while trying to keep up with each state’s different rules, regulations and quirks. The multiple jurisdictions (state, county, city, ‘solid waste commission’ etc.) all ‘taxed’ our software to comply.

    PERHAPS, and IF, (big issues, both) states could agree on a single policy (some have no income tax and high sales taxes while some have no sales tax OR income tax and others have a mix) then an alleged web-purchase tax could be worked out.

    While I am of a liberal persuasion, I find the sales tax (VAT in other countries) a weak-kneed cop-out by politicians of all stripes to pass something for which there is no lobby to protest.

    But that’s me.

    Grins
    Rob

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