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It's Time for an Internet Sales Tax

David Cortriss of Revenue magazine recently interviewed me about the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, a project that intends to make it easier to calculate sales tax in various venues, including online. While it's not news that people are trying to simplify pieces of our incredibly byzantine tax codes, it's worth noting that the Streamlined Sales Tax agreement is already winding its way through quite a few state legislatures.

David's question to me about the Streamlined Sales Tax has led me to reconsider one of the sacred cows of the Internet, taxation of Internet purchases.

In a nutshell, I believe that it's high time for us to reconsider the Internet Sales Tax with the triple whammy of the war in Iraq and the widespread devastation left in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But there are even more important reasons why it's time for us to enact taxation of Internet purchases...