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To: Libbyt who wrote (18335)	12/24/2002 12:43:24 PM
From: MulhollandDrive	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57110

i think it all depends on just how desperate they are to raise cash..states like CA are in a huge revenue shortfall...and it seems like an unrealistic notion that they can make it up with budget cuts alone... they are forecasting sluggish growth and they are hoping that business spending will kick in again late 2003 not only has the capital gains revenues been decimated..the normal stable sales tax revenue is also declining. not saying they will push it through, but any and every point of sale transaction is getting consideration for increasing state revenue.

To: Libbyt who wrote (18335)	12/27/2002 4:38:37 PM
From: MulhollandDrive	Respond to of 57110

libbyt... this story came out a couple of days after our internet sales tax discussion. story.news.yahoo.com Sales Tax on Internet May Help States Thu Dec 26,12:30 PM ET Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo! By JIM WASSERMAN, Associated Press Writer SACRAMENTO, Calif. - As states across the country struggle with deficits well into the billions, many officials are beginning to eye sales taxes on online shopping — which may seem like chump change but could spare countless small government programs. In California alone, such taxes could raise at least $200 million yearly. Nationally, local and state governments could add billions to their coffers. "We can no longer ignore an entire segment of the retail marketplace," said Pat Leary, lobbyist for the California State Association of Counties and a frequent online shopper herself. Internet shopping is expected to climb to $40 billion this year, from last year's $30 billion, according to New York-based Jupiter Research. It could reach $105 billion within five years. This year's tally includes $10 billion for computers and accessories, $4.7 billion for clothes and $2.8 billion for books, and much of that is untaxed. Collecting sales taxes won't be easy, though. Under a U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) decision, a state cannot force a business to collect sales taxes unless it has a physical presence, or "nexus," in that state. Without such a requirement, many online retailers balk at having to compute the hodgepodge of local and state sales taxes across the nation. Most customers, in turn, duck their duty to pay the sales tax themselves and most states don't go after them. Though Congress could authorize states to collect these taxes for other states, lawmakers have never done so and in fact have approved a moratorium through Nov. 1, 2003, on Internet-only taxes, including a streamlined sales-tax structure that would apply only to e-commerce. Now, the issue is taking on fresh urgency in state capitals, where last fiscal year governors collectively sliced $13 billion from state programs and are preparing to whack billions more, according to the National Governors Association.