Excessive taxation…will carry reason and reflection to every man’s door, and particularly in the hour of election.”
Thomas Jefferson ~ Letter to John Taylor — 1798
If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I’ll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.
“Taxman”by the Beatles
Beware of bills that use “Fairness” or “Affordable” in the title. The House Tax Policy Committee passed the so-called “Main Street Fairness” package, which would allow the state to collect additional tax revenue on online sales. (Just in time for the Holiday season!) Today it goes to a vote in the House.
Three Democrats joined six Republican committee members to support the bills, HB 4202 and HB 4203. BOTH bills introduced by Republicans.
The Republicans voting “yes” were Reps. Kevin COTTER (R-Mt. Pleasant), Frank FOSTER (R-Petoskey), Tim KELLY (R-Saginaw), Lisa LYONS (R-Alto), Margaret O’BRIEN and Amanda PRICE (R-Holland). The names in red also voted for the ObamaCare Medicaid Expansion along with Eileen Kowall (R) who introduced HB 4202
Lisa Posthumus Lyons, Eileen Kowall, and Frank Foster all signed some silly “NO Tax Pledge” used by organizations to brow beat other Reps who don’t sign. As you can see there is no tax pledge that can’t be broken! Lyons, Foster and Kowall already broke that a billion times by voting YES for the Medicaid Expansion, after all who is paying for that? Taxpayers
They will claim, “it’s not a tax increase but “tax fairness.” Oh really? Then please tell where you are reducing a tax to offset this tax to make it all “revenue neutral?” for us taxpayers.
According to administration officials, however, it’s still murky as to which specific online retailers would fall under the legislation and which wouldn’t. Oh great another poorly written law!
The stipulations on a retailer would include the following under the bills: -
Uses its employees, agents, representatives, or independent contractors in the state to promote or facilitate sales by the seller to purchasers in this state -
Maintains, uses, or occupies an office, distribution facility, warehouse, storage place,(that could be your closet at home Ebay/Etsy seller) or similar place of business in this state to facilitate the sale or delivery of tangible personal property sold by the seller to the seller’s purchasers in this state -
And delivers, installs, assembles, or performs maintenance or repair services for the seller’s purchasers in this state.
Big Government, Big Health, and now Big Internet, the costs will passed along to YOU the taxpayer.
Most bricks and mortar stores have online sales and the big box brick and mortar guys and online (i.e Amazon) will be able to absorb the cost of having to collect and report and deliever to the state YOUR taxes. Not that they won’t raise prices to cover that cost but its the SMALL business person, and the Ebay and Etsy seller trying to make it that will lose and many will have to close down leaving YOU less choice for purchases and a way to make some money for a secondary income, college or the retired person supplementing their income.
So to stop this in the House please call or email YOUR Rep NOW and say NO to taxing your online purchases and burdening the small business person with the cost of collecting those taxes.
House Reps Information, phone and e-mail HERE
Thank YOU for all you do, you are the heart and sold of a free Michigan
Joan Fabiano, founder Grassroots in Michigan
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