Mercury News: California State Official Backs Net Tax. “I think the Internet ought to be taxed like every other part of the economy,” (Steve) Westly, a former Internet executive, told about 400 leaders at a San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
This is overdue. The free ride Internet retailers get has been working to the disadvantage of Main Street businesses for years, and the situation was getting more unfair all the time.
What prompted the official change of heart — politicians who once hated Net sales taxes now favoring them — is the change in states’ fiscal conditions. There hasn’t been such a revenue shortfall in many years, and states everywhere are in a panic about how to supply needed services. Hence the new appreciation for a Net sales tax.
No one likes to pay taxes, and sales taxes are especially regressive. But as long as we’re going to have them, let’s apply them consistently.